(20 December 2016) A prominent Sudanese human rights defender
(HRD), Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, is currently detained incommunicado by the
country’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). Dr. Mudawi was
arrested at the University of Khartoum, where he is a professor, on 7 December
2016 alongside his longtime driver, Adam El Sheikh Mukhtar. Both men are
currently being held without charge or access to their families and lawyers at
NISS headquarters near Shande Bus Station. The 23 undersigned organisations
express serious concerns regarding the two men’s safety and well-being whilst
in the custody of the NISS.
NISS officers raided Dr. Mudawi’s home hours
after his arrest on the evening of 7 December, and only informed his family of
his arrest and whereabouts five days later, on 12 December. To date,
authorities have failed to give a reason or present charges to justify Dr.
Mudawi’s arrest.
Mr. Mukhtar’s whereabouts were not confirmed
until 12 December and there are no charges known to be leveled against him. He
is suspected to be held solely for his affiliation with Dr. Mudawi, whom he has
worked for since 2001, as a means to extract information and intelligence
regarding Dr. Mudawi’s work and connections to human rights activities.
Interrogations by the NISS documented by our organisations consistently involve
beatings, verbal abuse and threats, and other ill-treatment.
Dr. Mudawi’s arrest has also sparked a wave of
reprisals against his family and colleagues. Since his arrest, Dr. Mudawi’s
family home has been under government surveillance, with NISS agents and
vehicles parked outside the home.
Nora Abaid, an accountant from Dr. Mudawi’s
engineering company, Lambda Engineering was arrested by plainclothed NISS
agents in an unmarked car on 12 December. She is currently being held
incommunicado in an unknown location.
On 13 December, the family of Dr. Mudawi
officially requested visitation, which following NISS procedures, is allowed
after 15 days.
Incommunicado detention significantly enhances
vulnerability to torture and other ill-treatment. The practice is in breach of
Sudan’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in
particular the prohibition under Article 5 of torture and cruel, inhuman or
degrading punishment and treatment. Under the 2010 National Security Act (NSA),
detainees can be held for up to four and a half months without judicial review.
Our organisations call on the Sudanese
authorities to immediately guarantee the safety of Dr. Mudawi, Mr. Mukhtar, and
Ms. Abaid, and to grant them immediate and unequivocal access to their lawyers
and family members, and release them in the absence of valid legal charges
consistent with regional and international standards. We also condemn the
ongoing silencing of political opposition members, activists, and human rights
defenders through arbitrary detention and criminal charges, despite
constitutional guarantees to the freedom of expression, association, and
assembly. The criminalisation and ban of human rights work is contradictory to
the protections guaranteed by the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and
other elements of international and regional human rights law.
Background
The Government of Sudan has responded to a
growing civil disobedience campaign by arresting and detaining incommunicado at
least thirty nine political opposition party leaders and activists, and
censoring newspapers by seizing their print editions prior to distribution. The
African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) is aware of at least thirty
seven individuals currently held at National Intelligence and Security Services
(NISS) headquarters near Shande Bus Station without charge or access to their
families and lawyers. There is particular concern about four individuals who
are detained by the NISS in unknown locations. This includes activist Fatima
Mohamed Ahmed, and members of the Pharmacists’ Association, Arif Awad and
Mahmoud Mohamed Abdalla, who were arrested after making publicly condemning the
detention of their colleagues who were arrested days prior. The NISS has denied
having a member of the Teacher’s Strike Committee, Al Shazali Mohamed Abdalla,
in their custody, despite reports that he was arrested from his home in
Omdurman on 26 November.
The arrests and seizures of newspapers come
during a renewed civil disobedience campaign protesting against austerity
measures in the country instituted in early November. The austerity measures
have increased fuel prices by up to 30% and drastically increased prices on
basic commodities in the context of widespread poverty and corruption. A huge
amount of government spending is allocated in the national budget to finance
Sudan’s wars in Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile. Fluctuations on the
government set exchange rate regarding pharmaceutical supplies have led to a
substantial increase in prices of drugs.
The intensity of repression currently leveled
by the Sudanese Government is particularly targeted towards human rights
activities. The practice of issuing criminal charges against activists and
human rights defenders has become an established tool to silence dialogue about
human rights and civil society. On trial currently are ten staff members and
affiliates of the Centre for Training and Human Development (TRACKs), an
organisation which provides training on a range of issues from IT to human
rights, in two overlapping cases that include crimes against the state. Crimes
against the state charges carry the death penalty. TRACKs Director Khalafalla
al Afif Mukhtar, trainer Midhat Afif al-Deen Hamdan, and the director of
another organisation, Alzarqaa Organisation for Rural Development, Mustafa
Adam, have been detained for over six months. Throughout the trial proceedings,
the Prosecution has failed to provide written confirmation of the names of the
accused or charges brought against them or evidence for the legal basis of the
charges, undermining the ability of the accused to prepare a defence. Proceedings
have been repeatedly adjourned, prolonging the detention of the three men. Much
of the evidence presented has been related solely to TRACKs staff members and
affiliates’ human rights work and is unconvincing as to how their work
constitutes crimes against the state. A number of civil society activists and
journalists have been obstructed from attending the trial by court police and
subjected to harassment and intimidation, including having their photos taken
during court sessions.
The NISS and government regulatory bodies, such
as the Ministry of Culture and the Humanitarian Affairs Commission (HAC), have
imposed severe restrictions on the operation and mandates of civil society
organisations, and a number of them have been forcibly closed. Authorities have
refused permission for or cancelled their activities, arrested and intimidated
staff, through repeated summonses, and obstructed groups from legally
registering.
Dr. Mudawi is the former director of the Sudan
Social Development Organisation (SUDO), an NGO that worked closely with
internally displaced persons (IDPs) on development initiatives, conflict
resolution, and human rights education. SUDO was operational throughout Sudan
and had a number of field offices when it was forced to cease operations in
2009 during a wave of closures by the Government of Sudan after the
International Criminal Court’s issuance of an arrest warrant against President
Omar al Bashir for international crimes in Darfur. A 2010 ruling by the
Administrative Appeals Court allowed for the re-opening of SUDO and the
unfreezing of its assets – however, the organisation was never allowed to
resume its activities and recover its assets due to blockages by the
Humanitarian Affairs Council (HAC), a government controlled regulatory body
governing the work of non-governmental organisations.
Contact
The African Center for Justice and Peace
Studies (ACJPS): In Kampala, Mossaad Mohamed Ali (English, Arabic, Swedish):
+256 779584542; or Emily Cody, (English): +256 788695068, info@acjps.org.
DefendDefenders: In Kampala, Hassan Shire
(English, Somali): +256 772 753 753, executive@defenddefenders.org; or
Clementine de Montjoye (English, French), +256 752183305,
advocacy@defenddefenders.org
Co-signatories:
Act for Sudan
African Center for Justice and Peace Studies
Al Khatim Adlan Center for Enlightenment &
Human development (KACE)
Arab Coalition for Sudan
Confederation of Sudanese Civil Society
Organizations
Darfur Bar Association
DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human
Rights Defenders Project)
ENOUGH
Face Past for Future
Front Line Defenders
Human Rights and Development Organisation
(HUDO)
Hurriyat
International Refugee Rights Initiative
Investors Against Genocide
Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur
Never Again Coalition
People4Sudan
Sudan Consortium
Sudan Democracy First Group
Sudan Unlimited
SUDO UK
Sudanese Human Rights Initiative
Waging Peace