A Sudanese woman who wore pants in public was fined the equivalent of $200 but spared a whipping Monday when a court found her guilty of violating Sudan's decency laws.

Arriving at court Monday, Lubna Hussein wore the same pants that had led to her arrest for indecency. A defiant Lubna Hussein said she would not pay the fine and would take a month in prison instead to protest Sudan's draconian morality laws.

The 34-year-old journalist has set out to challenge the police and courts since her arrest in July by insisting the case go to trial, aiming to embarrass the Khartoum government with the publicity. Her prosecution – and the prospect that she could get the full sentence of 40 lashes – drew an international outcry.

Hussein vowed to appeal the sentence and even walked into the court wearing the same pair of loose-fitting green slacks that she was arrested in.