Further harassment of journalists in Khartoum

November 8, 2007 — SOAT expresses concern about the continued harassment of three journalists and human rights defenders who were made to report to the offices of the political section of the National Security Service (NSS) in Khartoum North on November 6 for the second day running. Faisal el-Bagir, Lemia el-Jaili Abu Bakr and Sabah Mohamed Adam were held there for several hours and interrogated by security officers. The questioning focused on personal matters, including personal income, and the financial and administrative structures of human rights organisations they work with in Khartoum , including their sources of funding.

All three had previously received a written summons on November 4 ordering them to report to the Khartoum North NSS offices the following day. On November 5, they presented themselves at the offices, where they were held from 9am until 3.40pm without being offered any explanation and were ordered to return the next morning.

Faisal al-Bagir is a member of SOAT’s network in Sudan and a correspondent for Reporters Sans Frontieres, and has been subject to harassment and detention by the Sudanese authorities in the past. Sabah Mohamed Adam works for the daily newspaper al-Ayyam, which has faced frequent censorship. Lemia el-Jaili Abu Bakr works with the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights.

SOAT condemns the arbitrary interference of the Sudanese authorities in the activities of human rights defenders, in breach of international conventions signed by the government of Sudan and standards set in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the Sudanese Interim National Constitution, which guarantees liberties including freedom of assembly, association and expression.

The combination of arbitrary summonses, detention and questioning without legitimate grounds amounts to harassment of the individuals involved and obstruction of the organisations they work for, which finds legal justification in legislation like the National Security Forces Act of 1999 that grants bodies such as the NSS wide-ranging powers. Human rights mechanisms including the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Sudan have repeatedly called for such laws to be amended to bring them into line with international standards and the Sudanese government’s constitutional obligations.

SOAT calls upon the Sudanese government to:

Ø Cease arbitrary interference in the activities of human rights organisations and harassment and intimidation of individual human rights defenders.

Ø Respect human rights, including freedom of expression, in accordance with its constitutional obligations and international standards, including article 2 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, “Each State has a prime responsibility and duty to protect, promote and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms, inter alia, by adopting… the legal guarantees required to ensure that all persons under its jurisdiction, individually and in association with others, are able to enjoy all those rights and freedoms in practice.”

Ø Urgently amend the National Security Forces Act and all other legislation that remains in conflict with the national constitution and international human rights standards.

Michael Farquhar
– Campaigner
– Sudan Organisation Against Torture
– Argo House
– Kilburn Park Road
– London
– NW6 5LF
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7625 8055
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7372 2656

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.soatsudan.org