Calls in Sudan for fatwa to kill UNITAMS head
April 10, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – During a political meeting held in Khartoum by the Sudan Call for National Accord, a participant made a disturbing request for a fatwa that would permit the assassination of Volker Perthes, the envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and head of the UNITAMS mission.
The coalition, which consists of various groups including Islamist organizations and eastern Sudan tribal leader Mohamed al-Amin Terik, held a meeting in Khartoum on Monday to voice their opposition to the framework agreement.
In a speech at the meeting, Terik, who is also the deputy head of the Democratic Bloc coalition, denounced the framework agreement, said it had been concocted by external forces and described its signatories as “misguided”.
One of the attendees asked the speakers about Volcker’s biased position with some political forces and “the exclusion of others”.
One of the attendees asked about Volcker’s biased position with some political forces and requested a fatwa allowing him to kill Volcker.
“So that the nation does not die, the (Islamist) project does not die, and Islam does not die,” he said.
The video of the attendee’s request was widely circulated on social media, with many denouncing the extremist rhetoric propagated by the Sudan Call for National Accord coalition as the root cause.
Following the October 25, 2021 coup, this coalition held several demonstrations in front of the UNTAMS mission headquarters in Khartoum, calling for Volker’s expulsion.
Government inertia condemned
In response, the National Commission for Human Rights issued a statement condemning “the hate speech and violence circulating in a number of platforms, including threats to international figures and diplomatic envoys.”
calling on the authorities to take urgent measures to prevent, suppress, and punish those involved in these speeches.
The commission expressed grave alarm at “the authorities’ laxity in taking measures to prevent, suppress and punish those involved in these speeches, which has led to their reinforcement.”
It further called on the authorities to take urgent measures to curb hate speech and violence.
No statement has been issued by the Sudanese authorities or the coalition regarding this incident.