Sudan: Urgent call for investigation into the custodial death of a Pharmacist whilst National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) detention in South Darfur (17.01.2018)

Mr. Ahmed’s family rejected the findings of the report and insisted that he died as a result of torture suffered whilst in NISS custody.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 17, 2018 – Sudanese authorities should urgently investigate the torture and custodial death of a Pharmacist and alleged ill-treatment and torture of five others accused of misusing emergency drugs at Giraida hospital and selling them to private pharmacies.

On 10 January 2018 at 9 AM, six medical professionals attached to Giraida hospital were arrested by NISS of Giraida, South Darfur and detained without charge for their alleged involvement in the illegal sale of emergency drugs from Giraida hospital, a government hospital, to private pharmacies. Five of the six detainees were released the following day, 11 January.  Available information suggests that the detainees were beaten and verbally assaulted by the NISS on their first day in custody.

The individuals who were released include:

  1. Adam Jar Elnabi, physician , Giraida hospital
  2. Salam Ahmed Adam , male, Medical Assistant, Giraida hospital
  3. Mubarek Hassan Osman , male ,Nurse, Giraida hospital
  4. Nor Aldeen Adam Hassan, male, Nurse, Giraida hospital
  5. Mohamed Yagoub Adam, male, Nurse, Giraida hospital

Following their release, the five personnel were ordered to report to the NISS office every day.

Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed, a pharmacist at Giraida hospital was held longer in custody and died on 12 January, after spending two days in custody.  According to information received, Mr. Ahmed was detained longer on account of his presumed affiliation with the Sudanese Congress Party. Mr. Ahmed is thought to have been severely tortured whilst in custody as his body showed signs of torture, including wounds sustained from a solid object.

On 12 January at 7 PM, the NISS took his body to Giraida Hospital. The Director of Graida hospital contacted Mr. Ahmed’s family to come and receive his body. The family refused to receive the body unless an autopsy was carried out by the hospital. The family reported that they were denied access to criminal form 8, a medical evidence form used in criminal proceedings related to death or grievous hurt.

On 13 January 2018 at 4 AM, the NISS transferred the body of the deceased to Nyala hospital, the main hospital in South Darfur state, under orders from the Commissioner of Giraida municipality. At Nyala hospital a medical report was issued and the findings indicated that Mr. Ahmed died of natural causes. However Mr. Ahmed’s family rejected the findings of the report and insisted that he died as a result of torture suffered whilst in NISS custody.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) calls on the Government of Sudan to immediately investigate the grave allegations and hold those responsible to account. The reported allegations of torture and the circumstances leading to the death of Mr. Ahmed should be the subject of an immediate, thorough, impartial, public and transparent investigation by the Sudanese authorities

The authorities should also guarantee the safety of Adam Jar Elnabi, Salam Ahmed Adam, Mubarek Hassan Osman, Nor Aldeen Adam Hassan and Mohamed Yagoub Adam and cease the harassment of the medical personnel. An investigation should be conducted into the allegations of torture or ill-treatment they faced whilst in custody.

ACJPS reiterates its call for law reform and calls on the Government of Sudan to adopt legislation that defines and criminalises torture in line with international standards including the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), provide effective access to justice and adequate reparation to victims of torture, and ensure that confessions obtained under torture are not used or accepted by courts under any circumstances. The Government should expressly denounce the use of torture by security agents to intimidate or extract confessions from persons in their custody.

Background

Sudanese authorities have been consistently implicated in the use of torture as a means of intimidation and to extract confessions. Despite the prohibition of torture in Sudan’s 2005 Interim National Constitution, other legislation, such as the 2010 National Security Act and 1994 Evidence Act, creates conditions rendering detainees extremely vulnerable to torture and ill-treatment. The 2007 Armed Forces Act, 2008 Police Act, and 2010 National Security Act each grant immunities to state actors.

The government of Sudan has repeatedly failed to ensure prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigations into allegations of torture, ill-treatment and has failed to ensure effective remedies or provide reparation to the victims. Even in cases where the immunities mentioned above have been lifted, victims of torture have faced various barriers that make it extremely hard to report cases of torture. ACJPS is not aware of a single case where an alleged perpetrator of torture has been held to account. The ACHPR found in case 379/09 against Sudan that remedies are not available to people tortured by the NISS because the power to lift immunities is at the discretion of the director of the NISS and is not subject to judicial oversight.

Sudan: Critical needs in Darfur, southern Sudan, where the International Committee of the Red Cross will increase assistance (11.01.2018)

The ICRC will also for the first time carry out new assistance activities in South Kordofan.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 11, 2018 – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will increase its field assistance activities in Sudan’s Darfur region in 2018, returning to an area where years of conflict have adversely affected the health and welfare of residents.

The ICRC will also for the first time carry out new assistance activities in South Kordofan. Recent visits to South Kordofan and Central Darfur by the ICRC found people in need of food, safe drinking water and access to health care.

“Families living in Sudan’s conflict-affected areas have been suffering much too long from the effects of prolonged violence,” ICRC President Peter Maurer said during a three-day visit to Sudan that concluded Thursday. “It’s notable that the Government of Sudan recognizes these needs and is allowing the ICRC to carry out a broader range of activities in these critical areas.”

The ICRC assistance activities will gradually increase in partnership with the Sudanese Red Crescent Society and relevant authorities. The ICRC hopes in the future to cross lines of control and directly assist all civilians suffering from conflict and violence, including in armed opposition held areas.

“We want to address short-term needs but we know we must also help strengthen the resilience of the people in the long-term,” Mr. Maurer said. “The ICRC has a long history of working in Sudan, but no history of working in South Kordofan state. We look forward to being able to assist those in need there.”

In South Kordofan, Mr. Maurer witnessed the opening of an ICRC-repaired water point where smiling children scooped up handfuls of clean drinking water from shiny taps. The ICRC plans to open a new office in Kadugli, a development welcomed by local authorities.

ICRC assistance in Sudan planned for 2018 includes the distribution of seeds, tools and pesticides to help internally displaced communities and host communities to grow their own food, aid that will help 108,000 people. Food or cash will be distributed to help those families until the harvest. ICRC teams will also repair water pumps and vaccinate livestock.

The ICRC resumed its field assistance work after suspending field operations in Darfur in 2015 because of limited access. The ICRC has continued to support orthopedic patients at the National Authority for Prosthetics and Orthotics, to reconnect families separated by conflict, and to act as a neutral intermediary during prisoner releases.

 

Sudan – Immediate safety concern for a Darfurian student detained incommunicado in unknown location for two weeks (08.01.2018)

Mahmoud Hussain was severely beaten by the members of National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) during his arrest.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 8, 2018 – The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) is seriously concerned for the safety of a Darfurian student who has been detained incommunicado and without charge for two weeks by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) in Khartoum. No reasons were given for his arrest in December and he has been denied access to his family and/ or lawyer. The authorities must immediately take measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the Darfurian student and order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international standards.

On 24 December 2017 at 1 pm, Mr. Mahmoud Hussain Omer, a law student at the Al-Nilien University in Khartoum from Kabkabia, North Darfur state, was arrested by members of NISS at the gate of the University. Mahmoud Hussain was severely beaten by the members of NISS during his arrest.

ACJPS is deeply concerned for the safety of Mahmoud Hussain who has now been detained incommunicado without charge and without access to his family or lawyer for two weeks and whose whereabouts remain unknown.

The lack of access to lawyers and family members of the detainees, together with the well-documented use by the NISS of torture and other forms of ill-treatment against detainees, particularly whilst held in unknown locations, gives rise to serious concerns for their safety. Incommunicado detention significantly enhances vulnerability to being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

In another incident, ACJPS was informed that on 22 August 2017, members of NISS arrested Mr. Nasreldin Mukhtar Mohamed, the former chairperson of the Darfur Students Association of the Holy Koran University in Omdurman. He was arrested at the gate of the university and then taken to the security detention centre in Khartoum North where he was held incommunicado for about a month. The authorities have only allowed two visits from his family since his arrest on 22 August 2017. The first visit was in October 2017.

During the last family visit on Friday 8 December 2017, his family noticed that Nasreldin Mukhtar had lost sight in his left eye and sustained severe injuries on his legs as a result of beatings by members of NISS.

Neither Mahmoud Hussain nor Nasreldin Mukhtar has been charged with a crime.

The National Security Act of 2010 (NSA 2010) grants the NISS wide powers of arrest and allows detention for up to four and a half months without judicial review, well in excess of international standards. The NSA 2010 also permits incommunicado detention without prompt and unequivocal access to a lawyer of one’s choice or the right to medical care. Sudan’s laws fail to provide adequate safeguards, permit arbitrary detention, and create an enabling environment for the perpetration of torture.

The authorities must guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the detainees and order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards or, if such charges exist, to bring them before an impartial, independent, and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times. The authorities must also guarantee both detainees access to medical assistance required to ensure their physical and psychological well-being.

Background

Although the formal charges are not known, the detentions are thought to have been made in connection with their involvement in the Darfur Students Association. Over the years, Darfuri students in universities across Sudan have encountered hostility from the Sudanese authorities. ACJPS has documented several cases of excessive use of force by security forces, arbitrary arrests and detention as well as torture and ill-treatment. The Government of Sudan has traditionally been hostile to Darfuri student associations organising at universities. They have been prevented, on occasion violently, for speaking out about issues related to fee waivers, expulsion of fellow students, among others.

On 18 May 2017, the NISS and a pro-government student militia raided a public forum at Wad Nobawe hostel which was organised to discuss the expulsion of seven Darfuri students from Al Azahri University after they participated in demonstrations on 15 May 2017 calling for the administration to adhere to the fee exemption provided for under the 2006 Doha Peace Agreement. The forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd and the students were beaten with sticks. At least ten students sustained injuries and were transferred to the hospital for treatment. Seven students were arrested and are detained incommunicado in an unknown location.

This incident occurred only four days after ACJPS document a similar incident in which twenty students were arrested after the NISS and pro-government student militia forcibly dispersed a public forum held on the campus on 15 May 2017.

Scattered protests erupt in Sudan over economic woes (08.01.2017)

Police on Friday used tear gas and batons cautiously to disperse protesters in the neighbourhoods of Al-Mazad, Shendi Foug, Al-Hilla Al-Jadida and Al-Dibaga in Wad Medani, capital of the Gezira State.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 8, 2018 – Sporadic protests have erupted on Friday in Khartoum and the Gazira State in central Sudan against the recent government decision to increase the bread price.

On Friday, bakeries raised the price of a loaf of bread from 50 cents to 1 Sudanese pound following a government decision to increase the price of flour sack from 167 pounds to 450 pounds.

The government decision was part of tough economic measures contained in the 2018 budget which also saw the lifting of electricity subsidies as well as increasing the U.S. dollar exchange rate to 18.00 pounds from the official rate of 6.7 pounds.

Several neighbourhoods in the Sudanese capital including Al-Sahafa, Al-Kalakla, Al-Giraif and Burri on Friday witnessed limited demonstrations where the protesters burned car tires to block some streets.

Also, police on Friday used tear gas and batons cautiously to disperse protesters in the neighbourhoods of Al-Mazad, Shendi Foug, Al-Hilla Al-Jadida and Al-Dibaga in Wad Medani, capital of the Gezira State.

There were reports that several protesters have been injured and unknown numbers were captured by the security forces.

To quell anti-austerity protests in Khartoum, Sudanese security forces in September 2013 carried out a brutal crackdown on the peaceful demonstration, killing nearly two hundred protesters say human rights groups or 86 people according to government figures.

On Thursday, the opposition called on the Sudanese people to take to streets to protests against the unprecedented rise in the cost of living and commodity price.

Opposition forces attribute the deteriorating living condition and economic meltdown to corruption, lack of production policies, and lack of economic reform vision following the secession of South Sudan.

Sudan lost 75% of its oil reserves after the southern part of the country became an independent nation in July 2011, denying the north billions of dollars in revenues.

Opinion: We never learn, the conflicts doesn’t stop!

This year has been bloody and the doomsday switch is itching. The trigger fingers are used on dozens of battlefields. Some places with hope of peace and of just rule. It is other places, which is in dire need of change and quickly. The are continuation of wars and conflicts. Internally and across borders. There are possible new problems and making it more hectic. As so many nations have porous borders where militias and armies are floating in between. Since also even with supposed arms blockade to certain conflict zones, the merchants of death is delivering their loads.

The battles continues, the ramifications of innocent lives, villages burnt and kids disappearing. The utter violence and crimes against humanity. That get touched and burned for war-lords, generals and Presidents to stay in power. While AID and NGOs are afraid of sending help and often also stopped. The United Nations might have troops in the nearby area, but easier to get a towing vehicle, than armed supported of a IDP Camp. The insurgency and the escalations, the results is death.

It happens, as the world is looking at Premier League, NBA and Formula One. It is happening while Miss Universe is lost on a God-Forsaken Island. We never know why these innocent lives had to die. We just read the numbers in small notices in the papers and moves on.

That is not justice, that is not right. We didn’t learn anything. Nothing. It continues daily in South Sudan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Yemen, Burma, Burundi, Mali, Niger, Cameroon, Nigeria and the list goes on. To many nations have internal conflicts or conflicts across their borders. Where merchants are securing the deaths of the innocent.

It happen all through the year. It didn’t stop. It continues and we just watch. We let it happen right under our nose for all sort of different reasons. This isn’t the big-man complex within me, this is the man who questions the world order and wonder when will it stop. We should not accept these deaths. It could be me and next time you. Who knows when conflicts will strike our shores and our clan. We never know, the future is not written yet, but we can make sure that doesn’t happen to them. That we shield and stop the aggressors. The endless violence and death. The destruction of society, of families and of basic functions.

Where the men and soldiers with the guns are respected and the law, where the respect and protocol is bypassed. Where the institutions and the general code of law is undermined at any moment. Where the bullet has the final say, where the use of weapons and ammunition; is the final outcome to any trade. The justice is what the guns say and the ones that uses them. The ones that is supplying it, is making sure the vote get heard and the War-Lord get signed off.

The determination and the lack of will, the mismanagement and the international community lack of acknowledge the reality. The blood-thirst and the power-hungry individuals who rule and who uses this to silence the public. Send them packing and fleeing. Take their lands and the resources. Secure their future, while the majority is in utter disgrace in foreign lands. They fear and wonder when peace will be in their village and around their home. If it is safe and if the government will promise their safety.

This is what we should be afraid of, that people are afraid of their homes and their lands. That they are afraid of returning, because they know that they might lose their lives and also their children. This is the evidence of the crime that is committed. What is taken from these people. We learned nothing in 2017, as the conflicts are continuing and no peace in sight. No justice and no respect for human dignity, as more innocent lives are taken away everyday before their time. Peace.

UN report urges Sudan to act over plight of displaced people in Darfur (21.11.2017)

The report details the situation of IDPs from January 2014 to December 2016, a period largely marked by the Government military campaign “decisive summer” that led to mass civilian displacement.

GENEVA, Switzerland, November 21, 2017 – A report by the UN Human Rights Office and the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) has called on the Sudanese Government to pursue effective, transparent and durable policies to enable the 2.6 million people internally displaced by the long-running conflict in Darfur to return home voluntarily or to reintegrate into host communities.

The report notes that, despite a ceasefire between the Government and various armed opposition groups which was largely held since June 2016, violence against internally displaced people (IDPs) continues to be widespread and impunity for human rights violations persists.

“I urge the Government to address fundamental issues that are preventing the return of displaced people, such as continued violence, including from armed militias, which raise continuing and justifiable fears for their safety and the lack of basic services that leave them dependent on aid,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

The report details the situation of IDPs from January 2014 to December 2016, a period largely marked by the Government military campaign “decisive summer” that led to mass civilian displacement. The report says there are reasonable grounds to believe that the military operations resulted in serious violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law.

With the unilateral ceasefires by the Government and most armed opposition movements in place since June 2016, there has been significantly less conflict-related displacement in Darfur during the first 10 months of 2017 than during the same period in previous years.

However, the inadequate presence and, in some cases, outright absence of law enforcement and judicial institutions in areas where IDPs have settled has led to serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, the report states.

Tensions between ethnic groups, frequently over land, continued to surface, often erupting in violence and triggering further displacement. The report says that while State governments, native administrations and traditional leaders have made considerable efforts to prevent and respond to such violence, the underlying causes of such conflict, remain unaddressed.

The vulnerability of displaced people within IDP camps remains a concern, the report says. In the majority of the 66 camps across Darfur, UNAMID continued to document cases of random shootings at night, acts of criminality and harassment of displaced persons and sexual violence, including rape, within and around IDP camps and farmlands. Victims cited the absence of police stations, lack of confidence in the authorities, social stigma and fear of reprisals as reasons for not reporting the attacks.

The report calls on the Government to carry out a prompt and comprehensive disarmament of armed militias to create an enabling and safe environment for IDPs to return, and also emphasises the need for extensive consultations with IDPs to ensure that their return and reintegration are carried out in full respect of their rights.

“The cessation of hostilities has provided the opportunity to focus on the situation of IDPs, which is so crucial to achieving peace. I urge the Government of Sudan to implement key elements set out in the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, and renew my call to all parties to fully engage in efforts to bring lasting peace to Darfur,” said UNAMID Joint Special Representative Jeremiah Mamabolo.

Eritrea: Press Briefing note on Attacks/threats by States against UN Human Rights Experts (21.11.2017)

UNAMID calls for collaborative approach to Darfur weapons collection in IDP camps (06.11.2017)

UNAMID peacekeepers on the ground during the incident reported that more than 100 government military vehicles, including trucks with mounted weapons and armoured personnel carriers, briefly entered parts of the camp.

EL FASHER, Sudan, November 6, 2017 –  On 2 November 2017, armed government forces entered Kalma IDP camp, South Darfur, in a show of force to conduct a weapons collection campaign in the state.

UNAMID peacekeepers on the ground during the incident reported that more than 100 government military vehicles, including trucks with mounted weapons and armoured personnel carriers, briefly entered parts of the camp.

“While UNAMID acknowledges the significance of the ongoing arms collection exercise, it regrets the entry by the Government forces to Kalma IDP camp was not coordinated with the mission to avoid any potential tension and violence”, said UNAMID Joint Special Representative, Jeremiah Mamabolo.

“We call on the Government and IDPs to work with UNAMID in a collaborative way in order to advance the weapons collection campaign.”

Following Thursday’s incident, UNAMID continues to engage with government authorities and Kalma IDP camp leaders in accordance with its protection of civilians mandate.

Eritrea: Statement of ELS on the Protest of October 31 (02.11.2017)

The Eritrean Law Society (ELS) is closely observing developments that have led to, and that have followed after, the unprecedented civilian protest of 31 October 2017, which occurred in the heart of the capital city of Eritrea. The protest was prompted by the announcement of a drastic government decision that affected the status of educational establishments administered by Eritrean religious institutions. Another major motive for the protest is the arbitrary arrest of respected elders and spiritual leaders, notably Haji Mussa Mohammed Nur, who strongly opposed the government decision.

Although the details of causalities are not yet fully known, ELS is concerned by the fact that brute force, including live ammunition, was used to suppress the protest, which was nothing more than a peaceful demonstration against a drastic government measure affecting the lives of thousands of people. In our view, the protest signifies one fundamental reality. In today’s Eritrea, citizens have no choice of whatsoever nature in pursuing their individual and group aspirations, life plans, goals, and purposes. Eritreans do not also have access to independent and impartial institutions, including courts of law that can safeguard their fundamental rights and freedoms in the event these essential entitlements are wantonly violated by government authorities.

History dictates that no population can be ruled forever under the yoke of unbearable authoritarianism. There is an urgent need in Eritrea for a full return to a system of governance based on constitutional order, the requirements of democratic accountability, and respect for the rule of law, including the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of the Eritrean people. ELS would like to take this occasion to make a call on the international community and those who can play a role by pushing for a full return to a democratic system of governance in Eritrea.

Meanwhile, the following reminder is also important for all peace-loving and justice-seeking Eritreans. We shall stay the course and remain vigilant against all sorts of divisive and cheap political machinations orchestrated by the authoritarian regime in Eritrea, its brazen apologists and messengers. It is always important to remember that the regime will make continuous recourse to methods that promote its narrow political agenda as well as frustrate the momentum ushered by the protest of 31 October.

Eritrean Law Society
Executive Committee
November 2, 2017

South Sudan: National Salvation Front/Army (NAS) – “On Clashes with Kiir” (30.10.2017)