Khartoum , Sudan -- A YouTube video of Sudanese police officers laughing as they publicly flogged a pleading , fleeing woman has sparked outrage , prompting dozens of demonstrators to protest Tuesday outside the Justice Ministry in downtown Khartoum , authorities said . The demonstrators belonged to the Women Initiative Against Violence , and 52 of them -- 46 women and six men -- were arrested for unlawful assembly , the Khartoum State Police Force said in a statement . All 52 persons were released under bail , police said . The two-minute video has caused an uproar in Sudan , and columnists in pro-government newspapers have called for an immediate investigation . Much criticism focuses on how the flogging was carried out . The footage shows an unidentified woman in a head scarf and black abaya , or Islamic robe , and she 's ordered in Arabic to sit down in a parking lot and take her punishment so that the officers `` can go home . '' The flogging is initially to her back , in keeping with the Sharia code , or Islamic law , governing flogging , but when she turns to ask for mercy , the whipping continues to the front part of her body , including her face , hands and legs . A shocked passerby can be heard exclaiming , `` There is no authority but God 's '' after witnessing the woman 's punishment . One of the officers responds : `` This is a fundamental principle . Let him whip her . '' At another point , an officer laughs when he realizes he is being filmed and asks the person behind the camera to film spectators whom he says are laughing with him . That officer then joins the flogging , and the woman is whipped by the two male officers . Sudan 's deputy police chief , Adel Al-Agib , initially attempted to downplay the incident and told the government 's official news agency that the video was circulated to `` damage the image of the country . '' In a recent meeting organized by the Sudanese Journalism and Publications Council , Al-Agib said the video was recorded in July 2009 , but was recently released `` to coincide with International Human Rights Day in order to bring on more international pressure on the country , '' he said . On late Sunday , Sudan 's Judiciary Authority , which oversees the legal system , announced it had launched an inquiry to see if the punishment had been administered improperly . The authority said nothing about the punishment itself . The judiciary authority said it would investigate the manner in which the `` execution of a punishment went against legally established guidelines according to criminal publications . '' `` The investigation was started immediately after the images of the young woman , being punished under Articles 154 and 155 of the 1991 Sudanese penal code , appeared on the internet , '' the judiciary said in the statement . Article 154 deals with the `` practice of prostitution , '' and Article 155 deals with the `` management of a place of prostitution . '' Details of the woman 's purported offenses have not been released by authorities . Local news accounts have reported that the flogging took place in Omdurman , Khartoum 's twin city across the river , at the Kajabab Police Station , which is in a poor neighborhood notorious for brothels and the illegal sale of the local moonshine `` aragi . '' Flogging is common in northern Sudan , where Islamic law is often enforced arbitrarily under the Public Order Act . Police and `` public order units '' have powers to enforce what is inappropriate dress or behavior . Local human rights organizations have long accused police of abusing their authority to mistreat women . Last year , Lubna Hussein , a former journalist turned United Nations employee , was arrested with a dozen other women for wearing trousers . Lubna was found guilty but was fined rather than whipped . Her case garnered international attention . The Public Order Act also applies to men . Last week a Khartoum court convicted seven men of indecency after they wore make-up while appearing at the `` Sudanese Next Top Model fashion show . '' The men were fined 200 Sudanese pounds , or $ 60 , each . CNN 's Michael Martinez contributed to this report .
A YouTube video depicts police officers laughing as they flog a crying woman . The video causes an uproar in Sudan and leads to a government investigation . Score: 6