In March and April 1985, the people of Sudan took to the streets revolting against Nimeiry’s regime. One of the main demands of the intifada was the abolishment of what became known as the "September 1983 laws", a criminal system based on Sharia.
Hundreds had been arbitrary killed, tortured and jailed as a result of these laws. However, for the four-year “democratic period” that followed the intifada, the government failed to meet the demands of the masses and the "September laws" remained untouched.
The 1989 military coup led by Omar Al Bashir and engineered by the National Islamic Front, set a precedent for further setbacks to the country’s legal foundations. In 1991, new criminal procedural laws were introduced and approved in the years to follow. They are all based on a fundamental interpretation of the Sharia.
