The scenes I saw outside the court which convicted Lubna Hussein were even more dramatic than those during the last quickly adjourned trial. Security forces and female protestors clashed again, but a third party introduced itself into the fray – Islamist men who proceeded to abuse the women and rip up their banners while the police joined in the name-calling. It seems the whole case has flushed out the nastier elements in Khartoum society as female supporters of Hussein were branded "prostitutes", that being the most polite word into which I can translate the insults.

According to Najlaa Al Maahi, one of Hussein's legal team, with whom I spoke after the trial, the proceedings were hastily conducted and the defence was not allowed to make its case. The general sentiment was that the guilty verdict and the sentence, a fine of £130, had been decided in advance and the trial was merely a formality. The goal apparently was to tar Hussein as indecent but not resort to lashing. This would leave the case against her intact, but not enact a brutal punishment while the world watched. Government supporters were hailing her conviction as a victory while their opponents saw the fine as a climb-down from the initial penalty of flogging, one which Hussein would have endured had she not challenged those who detained her.

The nominal fine and an admission of culpability – in effect a plea bargain – was rejected by Hussein for whatever residual admission of wrongdoing it suggested. The sentence for refusing to pay, a month's imprisonment, was threatened in order to put pressure on her to pay, but the judge may have underestimated her defiance. Sending her away for a month not only allows the court to flex the muscles it had been unable to flex through flogging, but also hide her away from scrutiny by the world's media, dampening any spirit of victory or jubilation.

More disturbingly, the end of the case has flushed out hardline elements allied with the government who appear to be relishing the opportunity to villify the women who have been protesting. The irony is that on the way back from court I witnessed several women in trousers freely walking the streets of Khartoum proving that it was never about modesty but about Hussein's refusal to capitulate to the authorities' temperamental and arbitrary invocation of public order laws.

The court may believe that it has struck a face-saving balance by refusing to rescind the charges against Hussein while also avoiding flogging her. However, her supporters are regrouping, an appeal is already being planned and the case had crystallised a hitherto unaddressed conflict over the public face of Khartoum. A regime keen to encourage foreign investment and prosperity after forging peace in the South has relaxed its grip over the city with sporadic reversions to its earlier, more Islamic incarnation. The aftermath of the case may determine whether this chaotic and inconsistent approach will be tolerated for much longer.