The government of Sudan took three actions in March which Christians are rejoicing over as answers to prayers.
On 8 March, Mohamed Hassan Arabi told the Sudan Tribune that the death penalty would be removed and replaced with a disposition making it a criminal offence to accuse someone of apostasy.
Article 126 of Sudan’s 1991 Criminal Code stipulates that those found guilty of apostasy are to be sentenced to death.
The article has historically been used to target religious minorities and restrict freedom of expression. Other aspects of the Code limit personal freedoms and criminalise blasphemy, and there was no indication given that these would be repealed.
On 11 March, the religious affairs ministry abolished committees imposed on churches under former President Omar al-Bashir, a move expected to return oversight of churches to their rightful leaders.
In late March the government released a truck confiscated in 2012 from a Baptist church. The Revd Philemon Hassan Kharata, a well-known gospel music composer & singer and senior pastor of the church, confirmed the release of the truck on his Facebook page, with many Sudanese Christians taking to social media to express their joy.
