A Sudanese court decided to undo the death sentence of Noura Hussein, the teenager who killed her husband after he raped her. Noura's case shed light on forced marriages and marital rape in Sudan's African state.
Her lawyers spoke about CNN and said that 19-year-old Hussein was sentenced to five years in prison for killing a 35-year-old husband. The tribunal ordered her family to pay 337,000 Sudanese pounds (about 2,023,000 leks) as money for the deceased's family.
Noura's lawyers intend to appeal and punish, and fined.
Last week, Noura Hussein's rare statement was published about events that changed his life.
Noura shows that the family married her against her wish when she was 15, but allowed her to finish school. Three years later, after a public wedding, her husband tried to consume her marriage. When she refused to have sex with her during the honeymoon, she says she raped her as her cousins ??held her hands and feet.
A day later, her husband tried to rap her again and there she hit her several times with a stab at death. When addressing the family, they reported to the police.
"On the ninth day came his family. His uncle told me to go to the bedroom. I said no, so he pulled me from his arm and his cousin hit me with a slap. All my clothes were torn off. His uncle held me to his feet, and the other two held my hands. He stripped me and raped me as I cried and screamed. Finally, they left the room. I was bleeding. Bare hair.
The next day she snatched me tight, thrown me into bed, and tried to climb me up. I was fighting and pushing it when my hand found a knife under the pillow. We started firing on the knife. He cut off my hand and bitten me to my shoulder. "
The court ruled in favor of Hussein after acknowledging that she found the knife under the pillow and did not take it in the kitchen as the prosecutors alluded to.
The case of Noura Hussein has taken over the world and dozens of petitions have been signed for its release.
Anyone over 10 years of age can marry in Sudan and marital rape is not a crime. For Amnesty International, Hussein's case should serve as a catalyst for change in Sudan.
