Sudan

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6. Sudan GENERAL, POLITICAL AND LEGAL OVERVIEW Sudan is home to many different cultures and traditions. However, due to a significant lack of diversity management and democracy, many areas, such as Darfur, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile, are home to many militant groups. To add to this deterioration in civilian security, the Government have enforced media censorship and commonly use lethal and excessive force to crush peaceful demonstrations leading to a stark increase in human rights violations.

In the face of mounting international and regional pressure, the Sudanese Government have been seeking a solution to the challenges that plague the country. The Sudanese President launched a national dialogue in January 201471. However, this endeavour was not accompanied by any serious steps to build trust between rival groups and political forces.

observers have opined that human rights violations in Sudan, in addition to being a breach of the country’s interim constitution, are a reflection of the regime’s fear and apprehension about the 2015 elections. Such elections are expected to be preceded by a reconciliation agreement with armed factions that could pave the way for more freedoms. A report by UN human rights expert Mashood Baderin revealed that the human rights situation in Sudan remained grave and that the Government was yet to release a report about the scores of peaceful demonstrators who were killed in September 2013. The report added that the Government had pressed on with the curtailment of the activities of civil society organisations, press censorship and arbitrary arrests and detentions 72.

The Government of Sudan is concerned that it will be placed under direct international observation to monitor its human rights situation in accordance with Security Council resolution 2187 (2014) paragraph 4:

The Government has persisted in its policy of arresting political opponents and security forces have become increasingly more brutal. Some

“Strongly condemning reported and ongoing human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, including those involving extrajudicial killings, ethnically targeted violence, rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, recruitment and use of children, enforced

71 http://mobile.nation.co.ke/news/-Bashir-callsfor-national-dialogue--/-/1950946/2163892/-/ format/xhtml/-/y1xupp/-/index.html

72 http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/reportindependent-expert-situation-human-rightssudan-mashood-baderin-ahrc2431

55 disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, violence aimed at spreading terror among the civilian population, and attacks on schools, places of worship, hospitals, and United Nations and associated peacekeeping personnel, by all parties, including armed groups and national security forces, as well as the incitement to commit such abuses and violations, further condemning harassment and targeting of civil society, humanitarian personnel and journalists, and emphasising that those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights must be held accountable and that the Government of South Sudan bears the primary responsibility to protect civilians within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction, including from potential crimes against humanity and war crimes.�

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS The right to freedom, fair trial and treatment •

Arbitrary arrests

Sudanese intelligence and security forces are still holding a number of political detainees who were arrested in 2013. The detainees include the former Secretary-General of the interim authority in Darfur, Adam Ismail alNoor; a member of the Executive Office of the Civilian Authority of Darfur, Abuqasem Ahmed Mohammed

Hammad; lawyer Adil Hasan al-Malik; student Omda Suleiman Mustapha: and member of the Executive Office of the Civilian Authority of Darfur, Mohammed Adam Mahmoud. The public prosecutor charged the men before they were transferred to Kobar Public Prison on 8th April 2013. They were denied visitors for more than 40 days, including visits from family.

According to a news report published in al-Maidan newspaper, the Darfur public prosecutor, Molana Rashed Ahmed Mohammed, had formed a special tribunal to review the charges against the detainees but no news has been released about the tribunal’s progress. Among those who were arrested is the blogger Tajeldin Ahmed Arja. Arja was finally released in May 2014 73.

The Sudanese authorities also detained a number of student activists including Abbas Abdullah Bashir, Mohamed Adam Sal, Salahadeen Abdullah Haroon and Bashir Khamis Adam. Detainees arrested earlier this year revealed they had met the students at Kobar Public Prison in Khartoum and that they were being subjected to inhumane conditions.

Human rights reports identified the presence of systematic torture by security forces at the political security office. A number of detainees were released in 2014 but many others 73 https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/ article/darfuri-activist-tajeldin-ahmed-arjareleased

56 remain in detention, despite calls by President Bashir to launch a national dialogue and increase the margin of freedoms.

Cases include the following: 1. Mohammed Yusuf Abkar, 43-years old, is married with four children and lives in Umm Dween in the town of alJanina. Abkar worked as the President of the Chamber of Commerce in West Darfur. He was arrested along with two other members of the Chamber of Commerce on 25th January following a strike by merchants in al-Janina market.

The strike had come in response to a government decision to raise the tariffs on trucks. Four other businessmen were arrested the following day.

2. Siddiq Noreen Ali Abdulrahman, 42-years old, is an Assistant Professor at the West Kordofan University and is married with four children. Security forces arrested him at the Insurance Hospital in the city of al-Nohood on 16th January while he was accompanying his sick son. Abdulrahman was transferred to a prison in al-Folla and al-Abiad city prison in Kordofan. He was finally released on 16th September without charge.

3. Abdulaziz Altoom Ibrahim, 29-years old, is a lawyer and human rights activist from Darfoor. Ibrahim was arrested along with student activist Mohammed Idris Jiddo on 12th March at the funeral of fellow student Ali Abkar Moussa.

4. Ghazi al-Reeh al-Sheik alSanhoori, 34-years old, is from al-Jareef in Khartoum. He was arrested at his home on 12th March.

5. Ashraf Mohammed Othman alHussein, 37-years old, is married with two children. Al-Hussein was arrested on 12th March outside the home of Ghazi al-Rieeh in al-Juraif.

6. Abdulmun’im Adam Mohammed, 30-years old, is a lawyer and human rights activist. He was arrested at his office on 13th March. Mohammed was released a month later without charges after being abused by security forces at the infamous al-Shindi office.

7. Al-Radi Ali Ibrahim, 30-years old, is a lawyer. Ibrahim was arrested on 17th March along with two students, Ibrahim Saleh Ibrahim Adam, 33, and Ahmed Ali al-Sanosi, 27.

8. Mohammed Salah Mohammed Abdulrahman, 34-years old, is a human rights activist. Abdulrahman was arrested at Khartoum International Airport on 20th March and released a month later.

9. Sudanese security forces in Khartoum also arrested a number of students from Khartoum University during a demonstration to protest the killing of the student Ali Abkar Idris.

Among those arrested were Mo’amar Mousa Mohammed, a 26-year old Philosophy student at Khartoum University and Taj al-Sirr Ja’afar Taj alSirr, a 27-year old student of chemistry

57 at Khartoum University. Mohammed and al-Sirr were arrested near campus and released 12th July.

He was taken to his office to seize some files and personal belongings. His car was also seized.

10. Security forces in Khartoum have embarked on a wide campaign of arrests targeting activists in the Sudanese Arab Socialist Baath Party.

The campaign coincided with the party’s mobilisation activities in April 2014. In May, security forces and intelligence services arrested Ibrahim Isamil Ibrahim Mohammed, Mohammed Ahmed Taher and Abdullah Hasan al-Kab. The three men were arrested after distributing Baath party pamphlets. On the morning of the 17th of May, security forces raided the home of the Baath party member Mubarak Mohammed Koko and took him to an unknown location. Our report has documented more than 17 cases of arbitrary arrests of Baath party members. They were all later released.

13. Security forces have also targeted those working in legal and human rights organisations. On 27th May, security forces and intelligence services arrested the Shura Officer at the Popular Congress Party, 33-year old Adam Mohammed al-Amin. Al-Amin also works as a teacher at Kadokkli Secondary School and is pursuing his postgraduate studies at the University of Dilnig. He was transferred to Khartoum in early June.

11. Mohammed Omar Ibrahim Mohammed, 53-years old, is married with two children and works at the Ministry of Finance. Mohammed was arrested at home in the city of Damazeen on Saturday 26th April and taken to the offices of the intelligence services in the province.

12. Qadim Azraq is a lawyer in his forties and is married with four children. Azraq is also a member of the Jabal al-Nuba Bar Association.

Azraq was arrested by security and intelligence services on 23rd June 2014 as he left court on his way to his office.

14. On 22nd June, security forces arrested 10 people from the village of Salmeen in the province of Ghadaref, East Sudan. Security forces raided their home and took them to an unknown location. On 25th July, the police arrested Ibrahim Ahmed Salem, a 47 year-old employee at the Department of Forestry in al-Nohood and the Secretary-General of the National Congress Party branch in Foja. Salem was taken to al-Nohood prison on 26th July and has not yet been charged with any offenses.

15. On 17th May, security forces arrested al-Sidiqq al-Mehdi, leader of the al-Umma Party, after he made a statement accusing pro-government militants of committing massacres in Darfur 74.

16. In June, security forces and 74 http://english.cntv.cn/2014/05/20/ VIDE1400540402515724.shtml

58 intelligence services in Kordofan arrested Marwan Isahaq Arjah, Abdulrahim Othman, Mohammed Abdeen, and Fathi Mohammed.

On 14th August, the police arrested Kammoon Mohammed Adam for delivering a speech at the National Congress conference. He was released the following day.

17. On 8th June, the president of the Sudanese National Congress Party, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Abdulrahman, was arrested in En Nahud, West Kordofan and was released on 15th September75.

The deputy leader of al-Umma Party, Maryam al-Sadiq al-Mehdi, was arrested on 22nd August at Khartoum airport on her way back from Paris after she attended a meeting between the al-Umma Party and the Revolutionary Front. She remained under arrest until 9th September76.

Social and economic rights •

Travel and assembly

On 4th September 2014, security forces and intelligence services prevented Siddiq Yusuf, a prominent leader in the Sudanese Communist Party, from travelling to Addis Ababa to meet leaders from the Revolutionary 75 http://www.alrakoba.net/news-actionshow-id-152071.htm [Alrakoba: Sudanese Congress Party issued a statement about the circumstances of the arrest of party leader Ibrahim Sheikh Abdulrahman (Arabic Source)] 76 http://news.yahoo.com/senior-sudanopposition-figure-freed-100515585.html

Front77. The families of those killed in the September 2013 protests were also ordered not to hold any memorials for their dead relatives78.

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Religious freedoms

Article (38) of Sudan’s Interim Constitution stipulates that “every person shall have the right to the freedom of religious creed and worship, and to declare his/her religion or creed and manifest the same, by way of worship, education, practice or performance of rites or ceremonies, subject to requirements of law and public order; no person shall be coerced to adopt such faith, that he/she does not believe in, nor to practice rites or services to which he/ she does not voluntarily consent.”

However, on 15th May the Sudanese Government sentenced Meriam Ibrahim to death for converting from Islam to Christianity. Meriam was eight months pregnant and a mother to a two-year-old boy. Her marriage to a Christian man was annulled and she was charged with adultery. Meriam was released after a lot of international pressure. She eventually left the country with her husband and children 77 https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/opinionssrf-leaders-differ-sudan%E2%80%99s-nationaldialogue 78 http://www.sudantribune.net/%D8%A7%D9 %84%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8 %AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8 %AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9,9251 [Sudan Tribune: Sudanese authorities prevent a memorial for the victims of September protests and arrest Sara Nagd Allah and other activists.

(Arabic Source)]

59 to live in the United States79.

On 30th June, the Sudanese authorities demolished the Sudanese Christ Church at al-Izba, north of Khartoum. In early June, the Government issued a decision banning the construction of new churches.

The Sudan Council of Churches’ (SCC) Secretary-General, Reverend Kori El Ramli, said the decision contradicts the country’s Constitution and that Christians were being forcefully displaced80. The Bishop of the Sudanese Christ Church, Kuwa Shamal Kuku, said the demolition was carried out under the pretext of protecting the land.

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Human trafficking

Traffickers have kidnapped, tortured and killed refugees in eastern Sudan and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, according to dozens of interviewees reported by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The victims were largely from Eritrea81. Egypt and Sudan have failed to adequately identify and prosecute the traffickers and any security officials who may have colluded with them, breaching both countries’ obligation to prevent torture82.

79 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/ europe/italy/10987694/Sudanese-Christianwoman-Meriam-Ibrahim-arrives-in-Italy.html 80 http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/30/world/ africa/sudan-church-violence 81 http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/02/11/ egyptsudan-traffickers-who-torture 82 http://www.newscastmedia.com/eritreans.htm

The right to freedoms of the press and expression •

Assembly

The absence of accountability and justice in the killing of 200 people by governmental excessive force during the September 2013 demonstrations has emboldened the regime to press on with the use of force. UN human rights expert Mashood Baderin described the Government’s report about the events as legally and morally unacceptable and lacking evidence of a thorough investigation into the human rights violations during the demonstrations.

The University of Khartoum witnessed several student demonstrations in support of Darfur, following the deterioration of the human rights situation in the province.

However, the police and security forces commanded by the ruling National Congress Party responded to these protests with lethal force. On 12th March 2014, student Ali Ibkar Idris was shot and killed on campus during a student’s protest. Seven others were also injured. Witnesses confirmed that National Intelligence and police forces stormed the campus and met student protests with gunfire.

In July 2014, peaceful demonstrations were staged in the south of Khartoum to protest water shortages. A police crackdown with tear gas and violence led to the killing of a student who died from tear gas

60 suffocation. The official Sudanese news agency SUNA justified the killing by claiming that a number of protests had led to the disruption of traffic forcing the police to use tear gas that resulted in the death of a student.

The African Centre for Peace and Justice Studies documented three cases where detainees died in police custody in the Red Sea province. The men had been arrested and tortured in accordance with the Public Order law.

No investigation has been launched into their death.

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Institutions

On 24th June, the Ministry of Justice shut down the operations of the Salma Foundation for Women’s Studies83. The Government had already dismantled three organisations84. In September 2013, the Government banned the Civil Society Confederation from holding any meetings85.

Press

The crackdown on press freedoms has continued unabated.

The Government imposed new taxes on print publications, newspapers and magazines which are often censored before they are published and journalists are summoned and/ or detained on a regular basis. Many Sudanese journalists proclaim this current era as the worst in history in terms of press freedoms, especially after proclaiming the Republic of South Sudan an independent state.

Despite the fact that pre-publication censorship has been suspended, newspapers are sometimes seized in printing presses. The brutal crackdown on press freedoms is evident after some newspapers reported cases of corruption and disagreements within the Government.

83 http://www.hurriyatsudan.com/?p=156874 [ Hurriyat Sudan: Continuous attack on community organisations in Sudan and the closure of Salma Centre for women studies (Arabic Source)] 84 http://www.acjps.org/civil-society-organisationsclosed-in-renewed-clamp-down-on-freedom-ofassociation-in-sudan/ 85 http://www.sudantribune.com/spip. php?article52392