Sudanese security bans rights activists from travelling to Geneva
March 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) agents at Khartoum airport Monday have prevented civil society activists from travelling to Geneva to attend the meeting of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
NISS agents at Khartoum airport at dawn on Monday have prevented rights activists Sawsan al-Shiwaya and Muawia Shadad from travelling to Geneva and seized their passports.
Al-Shiwaya said the security agents told her that she was banned from travel, pointing the security agents seized her passport before asking her to report to the NISS headquarters in Khartoum on Tuesday.
It is noteworthy that al-Shiwaya and Shadad were heading to Geneva to take part in meetings in preparation for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
Under the UPR mechanism of the UNHRC, the human rights situation of all UN member states is reviewed every four and a half years.
Civil society organisations are invited to submit information in contribution to each review.
NISS continued to ban opposition leaders and political and civil society activists from travelling abroad.
On Friday, it prevented journalist Faisal Mohamed Salih from travelling to the United Kingdom (UK) to attend a book launch event.
Last week, NISS banned the member of the central committee of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) Siddiq Youssef from travelling to Geneva to attend the to attend the discussion of Sudan annual report at the UNHRC.
Also, security services at Khartoum airport last December banned SCP leader Mohamed Mokhtar al-Khatib and SCP member Tariq Abdel Majid besides the leader of a Democratic Unionist Party’s faction, Jala al-Azhari from leaving to Paris and confiscated their passports.
(ST)