HRW calls to stop arbitrary detention in Sudan
Sudan: Surge in Detention, Beatings, Around Elections Free Those Held Arbitrarily; Investigate Abuses
(Nairobi, April 29, 2015) – Security forces in Sudan
Those arrested included people participating in a campaign to boycott the elections “Irhal” (or “Go!” in Arabic). The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies, in a statement
Many of the detainees face serious charges, including for crimes that carry the death penalty. Sudanese authorities should stop arresting people because of their real or perceived political views, release everyone arbitrarily detained, drop unfounded charges, and investigate allegations of detainee abuse, Human Rights Watch said.
“Instead of allowing people to express their views peacefully, the government is snatching up political activists and beating, torturing, and jailing them, without the slightest pretense of respect for basic rights,” said Daniel Bekele
On April 27, 2015, Sudan’s election commission announced
Sudanese monitors have reported that arrests, often by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), are continuing. On April 28, in Omdurman, NISS agents arrested at least three activists speaking out against the elections, including Mastor Ahmed Mohammed, a member of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCP), which is among the parties that boycotted the elections.
In Lagawa, Western Kordofan, on April 21, heavily armed security forces arrested a traditional leader known as a sultan, a lawyer, and a student because they supported an independent candidate, witnesses told Human Rights Watch. The three men remain in detention without charge, under the authority of the state governor. Over the past three months Lagawa’s residents have been protesting about the lack of development in the area and other grievances against the state government.
On April 20, in Khartoum, NISS agents arrested Dr. Jalal Mustafa, chair of the committee for solidarity with families of those killed and injured during the violent crackdown on popular protests in September 2013
The NISS has broad powers of arrest and can detain people for up to four-and-a-half months without judicial oversight. The agency is widely known for abusive treatment of detainees. In recent weeks, released detainees and other credible sources have confirmed that NISS agents or men in civilian clothing suspected of working with the NISS severely beat detainees and warned them not to report the beatings.
In one case on April 19, a group of security officials and pro-government students abducted and beat a student leader at Khartoum University. The attackers blindfolded the student leader, tied his hands, and took him to the NISS offices near the Shendi bus station in Khartoum. They beat him with batons for several hours and interrogated him about his links to opposition political parties, then released him after ordering him not to report what had happened.
In Khartoum, a lawyer who was arrested in his office by national security agents on April 12 told Human Rights Watch that he had been blindfolded and beaten with pipes, and could barely move because of his injuries. “My body is broken,” he said by telephone on April 20. He and four other men detained with him, all ethnic Nuba, were released on April 15.
In one of the most high-profile cases, a group of armed men whom she suspected of being NISS officers arrested Dr. Sandra Kadouda, a prominent political and human rights activist, on April 12 as she drove to an anti-elections event at the National Umma Party headquarters in Omdurman. They held her for three days at an unknown location, and then freed her on April 15, visibly bruised and with injuries to her shoulder, media
NISS denied responsibility for Kadouda’s arrest and sought to cover up information about the case. Authorities have in recent days charged her with defamation and spreading false information, and arrested family members. On April 20, NISS officials censored a newspaper article about her detention in the al-Sudani newspaper.
On the morning of April 2, NISS officials in Sinja, Sennar state, arrested a female member of the Sudanese Congress Party, as she campaigned against holding the elections. She told Human Rights Watch that the men tied her up and beat her for several hours while insulting her, then released her in a remote area. Her injuries were so severe she had to be hospitalized and continues to receive treatment. NISS officials also warned her not to report what happened to her.
Among those facing serious charges is Adil Bakheet
Three other members of the Congress Party who were arrested on April 11 in El Doweim, in White Nile, also face charges of crimes punishable by death, including undermining the constitutional system. They were transferred to Khartoum, where they remain in detention without access to lawyers or family visits.
Sudanese authorities have also clamped down on nongovernmental groups. In addition to the raid on Tracks, in March authorities ordered the closing of an environmental group in Omdurman. Security agents questioned the organization’s manager about links to the anti-elections campaign. In February officials closed the Sudanese Writer’s Union, and on January 18, they raided the Mahmoud Mohammed Taha Cultural Center during an event marking the thirtieth anniversary of the execution of Taha, a renowned secular Islamic scholar, and ordered the center closed down.
On December 21, 2014, security agents raided the Sudanese Human Rights Monitor and confiscated laptops and documents. On December 6 and 7, the authorities had arrested Dr. Amin Mekki Medani, the organization’s founder and well-known human rights lawyer, Farouk Abu Eissa, an opposition leader, and Dr. Farah Ibrahim Alagar, a political activist. The men had returned from political negotiations in Addis Ababa where they supported the “Sudan Call
“The Sudanese government needs to put a stop to the raids, detentions, trumped-up charges, and harsh beatings,” Bekele said. “The government should investigate allegations of mistreatment and hold the responsible officers to account.”
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Sudan, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/sudan
For more information, please contact:
In New York, Jehanne Henry (English, French): +1-917-443-2724 (mobile); or [email protected]