A Sudanese court convicted seven men of indecency today after police accused them of wearing makeup during a fashion show in Khartoum, their lawyer said.
The men, amateur models at the "Sudanese Next Top Model Fashion Show" in June, were arrested by the public order police, a body known for its crackdowns on perceived indecent dress and drinking in the Muslim north, one defendant said.
All seven were found guilty today and each fined 200 Sudanese pounds (€60), as was a woman who faced the same charge for applying the makeup, said lawyer Nabil Adib.
"The court thought that they were indecently dressed ... The judge thought that wearing makeup could be offensive for men and allowing a woman to put makeup on men was against the law," said Mr Adib.
The lawyer said he had argued in court that men, including religious preachers, regularly wore makeup for appearances on Sudan's state television station.
The defendants could have faced a maximum punishment of 40 lashes and imprisonment, said Adib.
Sudanese UN official Lubna Hussein was briefly jailed for wearing trousers in public after being found guilty for the same offence in 2009, a case that drew international criticism.
Reuters