Secular Muslims and the predominantly non-Muslim Southerners strongly opposed the imposition of Islamic law. Even before issuance of the September Laws, however, John Garang, the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) had defected from the government and begun to organize Southern opposition to overthrow Nimeiry. The enforcement of hudud punishment, which included flogging and amputation of hands and feet, aroused widespread opposition to the Nimeiry government. Following Nimeiry's overthrow in 1985, the Swar al-Dahab government suspended the harshest hudud penalties. Both Swar al-Dahab and his democratically elected successor, Sadiq al-Mahdi, supported sharia but criticized its method of implementation by Nimeiry. By early 1989, a reluctant al-Mahdi expressed willingness to consider abrogation of the controversial sharia laws. This caused his coalition partner, al-Turabi and the National Islamic Front (NIF), to resign from the government in protest. Al-Mahdi announced that the cabinet would consider draft legislation repealing the September Laws on July 1, 1989, and would meet with SPLM leaders to resolve peacefully an end to the civil war. The military coup of June 1989 led by al-Bashir occurred only 24 hours before the al-Mahdi government was scheduled to vote on rescinding the September Laws.