Security Council hears criticism over ‘inaction and paralysis’ in Darfur crisis

Security Council hears criticism over ‘inaction and paralysis’ in Darfur crisis

11 December 2013 – It is “an understatement” to say the victims of Sudan’s Darfur conflict have lost all hope, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said today, reiterating her “frustration and despair” at the United Nations Security Council's “inaction and paralysis”, and urged it to take firm action to bring those indicted for war crimes to justice.

In its resolution 1593 (2005), the Council asked the Hague-based Court to investigate war crimes in Darfur, and in 2009, ICC judges issued arrest warrants against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and other top officials for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur.

“The time has come for this Council and States Parties to seriously devise strategies for arresting those alleged to be responsible for these crimes,” Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the 15-member body during her office’s latest briefing on the conflict between the Government and various armed groups which led to the deaths hundreds of thousands of people and displaced two million more since it first erupted in early 2003.

“This is the only way to stop the seemingly endless suffering of the Darfur victims,” she said, calling it a “serious indictment on this Council and on States Parties” that Mr. Bashir and others have been able to show “blatant disregard” for the Council’s resolutions and travel to various countries without fear of arrest.

“The situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate and the plight of Darfur victims continues to go from bad to worse,” she stressed noting that this year alone 460,000 people have been newly displaced, with the numbers of people killed, abducted and displaced growing each year.

“This Council's silence even when notified of clear failures and/or violations by UN Member States of their obligations to comply with this Council's resolutions only serves to add insult to the plight of Darfur's victims.”

Giving an overview of alleged crimes which continue to be committed and “cry out for full investigations,” Ms. Bensouda cited allegations of Defence Ministry attacks targeting civilians as well as attacks by rebel movements; criminal acts against displaced persons and abductions of, and attacks on humanitarian aid workers and peacekeepers.

She also noted aerial bombardments and “the pervasive and corrosive effect of organized sexual and gender-based violence” on women and girls, which remains seriously under-reported.

Ms. Bensouda said Resolution 1593 represented hope for Darfur's victims: “hope that there would be an end for their suffering; hope that there would be accountability for crimes and that justice would not only be done but would be seen to be done; and above all, hope that lasting peace and security would return to Darfur.

“That hope was strengthened even further when this Council mandated my Office to report on progress every six months to enable the Council to remain actively seized of their plight. Sadly, with each report provided by my Office to the Council, the hopes of the victims of Darfur have faded. With this eighteenth report, it would be an understatement to say that all hope is lost.”

She noted that the 10-year conflict has cost UN and humanitarian aid organizations more than $10.5 billion and led to the deaths of 47 aid workers, with many more injured and abducted, and with attacks on peacekeepers appearing to become the norm, with a record number of 57 killings.

“In spite of the frustrations, challenges and obstacles, my Office's determination to carry out the mandate given to it by Resolution 1593 has not and will not waver,” she stressed.

But, she added, “Without stronger action by this Council and States Parties, the situation in the Sudan is unlikely to improve.”

أجهزة شرطة سودانية سيئة السمعة

أجهزة شرطة سودانية سيئة السمعة 

أيمن عادل أمين

Kvinnan piskas av polisman i Sudan

تواصل حكومة السودان إنصرافيتها المعهودة و تسهب في الرعب و الهلع الذي يطوقها من كل الجوانب ، تاركاً أثره علي سياسات الدولة في إدارة الشؤون العامة ، جاء في الأنباء وعلي إذاعة أمدرمان الرسمية ، أن وزارة الداخلية تبحث إنشاء وحدة شرطية جديدة لمراقبة شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي (فيسبوك – تويتر ) بإعتبار أنها باتت تهدد الأمن القومي السوداني .

لا شك في أن حرية التعبيرتحديداً في مفهوم الطغمة الحاكمة هو تهديد للأمن ، و الدعوة لإسقاط نظام الفقر و الجوع و نقد السياسات القمعية هي تهمة أيضاً ، وكشف ملفات الفساد التي أزكمت الأنوف و غطت علي كل شي باتت تهمة ، فكل شي غير طبيعي في زمن غير طبيعي هو بالطبع طبيعي ، وهذا داب الديكتاتوريات . إخراس الأصوات بكافة السبل ، التدخل في حياة الناس بكل الأشكال السافرة و المقززة ، و التحكم في سلوك البشر العام و الخاص .

ولكن أن تنشئ الدولة جهاز شرطي قائم بذاتة للتنسط وترصد تواصل المواطنين إجتماعياً عبر الوسائل الجديدة المتاحة و الإستفادة من التطور التكنلوجي لمواكبة العصر هو درجة متقدمة من التسلط و القهر ، بصورة مشابهة هنا لما ذهبت له الحكومة الإيرانية وباتت تترصد مواطنيها .

والمسألة هنا مشابهة لما قبلها ، فالشرطة السودانية سيئة السمعة التي تنفذ قانون النظام العام سئ الذكر قادرة أن تتعقب أي شي فلا أجد درك أقبح و أذل من أن تترصد حياة الناس و خصوصياتهم وتفترض النبؤة في نفسك و أنت أقبح و اسواء بشر ، فشرطة النظام العام و منسوبيها من هم نموذج لسوء الأخلاق و السمعة وعدم المهنية ، بما تمارس من إنتهاكات متواصلة يقشعر له البدن و تدعو للحسرة و الحياء وقد فاحت وعمت الأسافير و القنوات التلفزيونية العالمية .

أنشئوا أجهزتكم الشرطية العلنية و السرية ، فالشعب السوداني لا يهاب الترصد أو المتابعة و قد أعلنها داوية أن النظام يجب أن يمضي فلا أجد معني في تكوين جهاز شرطة جديد أو تحديث جهاز أصلاُ موجود ، الأجدر بشرطتكم أن تشرع في محاسبة منسوبيها المتورطين و الغارقين في دماء الأبرياء و كان حرياً بها أن تخلع القبعات وتلتحق بالجماهير حفاظاً علي ماتبقي من وطن بات لا يسع أحد ، ومن أجل عدل حقيقي ومحاسبة تطال كل المجرمين .

Sudan: Two activists at risk of flogging for ‘indecent behaviour’

Sudan: Two activists at risk of flogging for ‘indecent behaviour’

12-11-2013

The Sudanese authorities must drop ‘indecent behaviour’ charges against two activists who risk being sentenced to flogging in a trial that opens tomorrow, Amnesty International said today.

The organization is calling for the charges to be immediately and unconditionally dropped.

“Yet again the Sudanese authorities are exploiting their legal system to harass and intimidate activists,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director.

“The public order laws being used in this case do not specify what is meant by ‘indecent behaviour’ so the security forces are using their discretion to arrest and punish whoever they want to.”

On 21 October Najlaa Mohammed Ali , a lawyer and a human rights activist, and Amin Senada, an activist, were travelling by car to Port Sudan, when two armed men stopped the car, claiming to be from Sudan’s Public Order Police.

They accused Amin Senada of placing his hand on Najlaa Mohammed Ali’s shoulder and ordered the two to accompany them to the Public Order Department. The two were later charged with ‘indecent behaviour’ under Article 152 of Sudan’s Criminal Code, part of a broader set of laws known as the public order regime, which impose corporal punishment and fines for what is seen as immoral behaviour. Such charges can result in corporal punishment of up to 40 lashes.

“It appears that the charge is a response to Najlaa’s activism, including her participation in countrywide demonstrations that took place in September,” said Sarah Jackson.

Amnesty International is calling on the Sudanese authorities to abolish the penalty of flogging, which violates the absolute prohibition against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

“Thousands of people, mainly women, are at risk of flogging in Sudan after being arrested for what is arbitrarily deemed ‘indecent behaviour’. This law is highly arbitrary and discriminatory, and needs to be repealed,” said Sarah Jackson.

Amnesty International is urging the Sudanese authorities to repeal or radically revise Article 152 of the Criminal Code as soon as possible to bring it in line with Sudan’s obligations under international human rights law.

Background information
Article 152 states: “(1) Whoever commits, in a public space, an act, or conducts himself in an indecent manner, or a manner contrary to public morality, or wears an indecent or immoral dress, which causes annoyance to public feelings, shall be punished, with whipping, not exceeding forty lashes, or with a fine, or with both (2) The act shall be contrary to public morals if it is regarded as such according to the standard of the person's religion or the custom of the country where the act takes place.”
In August this year, the case of Amira Osman Hamed, a Sudanese women’s rights activist charged under Article 152 for not wearing a headscarf, attracted international attention. Her trial has repeatedly been delayed.

To: Members of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

To: Members of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Dear Commissioners,

RE: Urgent Fact-Finding Mission Needed to Investigate Killings and Detention by Security Forces in Sudan

The undersigned organisations are writing to you to express our deep concern at the lack of action or public comments made by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and the African Union (AU) concerning recent events in Sudan, including the deaths of at least 170 protestors and the detention of over 800 others, and restrictions on the media. The gravity of the situation requires a swift and concerted response from the ACHPR. As the premier human rights institution on the continent, the ACHPR should urgently condemn the excessive and disproportionate use of force against protestors and restrictions on basic civil and political rights in Sudan.

The ACHPR should alsosend a fact-finding mission to investigate these violations and call on the government of Sudan to immediately stop further abuses. Such an inquiry could be organised in close coordination with the African Union High Level Implementation Panel and relevant UN bodies.

We call on the ACHPR to act swiftly to protect human and peoples’ rights in Sudan, which is a state party to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. The African Charter contains guarantees relating to the rights to liberty, freedom of expression, information, association, and assembly under Articles 6, 9, 10, and 11. The Sudanese government response to the protests has violated these obligations. It has shown no signs of responding to calls for an urgent, independent, and impartial investigation into incidents surrounding the recent protests.

The findings of any inquiry should include recommendations to the AU as to take up their responsibilities as set out in the AU Constitutive Act to promote peace, security, and stability in Sudan; promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation, and good governance; and promote and protect human and peoples’ rights.

Government Response to Demonstrations

Demonstrations taking place throughout the country that began on 23 September have been met with excessive use of force by the Sudanese authorities. Many of the protests turned violent as protesters vandalized and set fire to gas stations and police stations, and threw stones at police and security forces. Government security forces, including the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and the Central Reserve Police forces, have fired live ammunition at protestors, beaten them with rubber batons, and fired tear gas to disperse crowds.

The initial demonstrations were sparked by a government announcement on 22 September that subsidies on fuel and other commodities would be lifted. As the demonstrations spread to cities and towns the death toll and numbers of people in detention rose.

Whilst the exact death toll linked to these events is not known, Sudanese human rights groups have documented at least 170 deaths. The Sudanese Doctors’ Union has placed the figure at 210. According to witnesses the majority of deaths resulted from gun-shotsto the upper parts of the body and head and strongly suggests the disproportionate use of force against scores of protestors.

Since the demonstrations began the Sudanese authorities have shut down national and international media outlets, ordered journalists not to write about these incidents, and issued strict instructions to newspaper editors on what information can be published about the protests.

On 25 September the Medical Director of Omdurman Hospital was summoned by the NISS after he spoke publicly on BBC Arabic about the numbers of casualties admitted to his hospital. The Chairman of the Sudanese Doctors’ Union was also detained for a few hours on 5 October after he reported publicly that at least 210 people had been killed according to data from his Union.

At least 800 people have been detained by the police and the NISS since the demonstrations began on 23 September 2013, according to the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies. Those in custody include scores of political activists and human rights defenders as well as journalists, lawyers, and youth activists, who have been arrested at their homes and places of work.

Authorities have used Sudan’s repressive National Security Act of 2010 to detain people who have spoken out or sought to document the abuses. Under the act detainees can be held for four and a half months without charge or trial, and are usually held incommunicado and without access to their families or lawyers for prolonged periods in violation of international law, giving rise to a risk of torture or ill-treatment in detention. There are serious concerns for the safety of the dozens still in national security detention, many of who are without access to their families and lawyers.

At least 50 people who participated in the protests have been arrested, charged with public order offences, and subject to summary trials that do not meet international law standards and fail to guarantee procedural rights. Some of those convicted have been sentenced to lashing. On 24 September 2013, for example, the Omdurman Central Criminal Court summarily tried and convicted eight protestors arrested from a demonstration the night before in the Al Abassia area of Omdurman for disturbance of public peace (article 67 of the 1991 Penal Code) and public nuisance (article 77), sentencing them each to twenty lashes and a fine of 200 Sudanese pounds. The group had no legal representation during the proceedings and the lashing penalty was carried out immediately.

The Leadership Role of the ACHPR

The human rights violations that have taken place in Sudan in connection with the demonstrations reflect a broader governance and human rights crisis in the country that requires concerted and swift action by the ACHPR and AU. We recall that the ACHPR in its 2012 Concluding Observations and Recommendations on the 4th and 5th Periodic Report submitted by Sudan recommended that Sudan “appoint an independent commission to investigate all extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, and torture by the police and make public its findings.”

The recent tragic events cannot be addressed in isolation from serious and widespread violations of human rights and humanitarian law taking place on a daily basis throughout Sudan, including armed attacks against civilians in Sudan’s armed conflict zones of Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile states. The ACHPR’s request for provisional measures in the case of South Kordofan in November 2011 remains unimplemented by the government of Sudan, in violation of Rule 98 of the ACHPR’s Rules of Procedure to “adopt Provisional Measures to prevent irreparable harm to the victim[s].”

Over the past twenty years the ACHPR has issued several resolutions demonstrating commitment to peace and security, justice and accountability, and respect for fundamental human rights in Sudan and Africa as a whole. It has shown leadership on Sudan’s human rights crises. For example, in 2004 the ACHPR undertook an investigative mission to Darfur, which drew the attention of the AU to the crisis and has demonstrated the potential positive impact of the ACHPR.

The ACHPR has a clear mandate to conduct fact-finding investigations. Under Article 45 of the African Charter, the ACHPR is empowered to conduct research into human rights practices and togive its views and recommendations to governments, as well as toco-operate with other African and international institutions concerned with the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights. Article 46 of the Charter gives the ACHPR the right to use “any appropriate method of investigation.”

In June 2013 the ACHPR carried out a fact-finding mission in the Republic of Mali, having been requested by the AU Executive Council to open an investigation into the human rights situation in the North of Mali and to provide concrete recommendations on measures to be taken.

Recalling the mandate of the commission, we urge you to take urgent action to establish and send a fact-finding mission to investigate the death and injury of protesters and mass detentions in towns across Sudan, in violation of international human rights law.

Yours sincerely,

African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies

African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies

Amman Centre for Human Rights Studies

Arry Organisation for Human Rights and Development

Conscience International Sierra Leone

East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders’ Project

Human Rights Institute of South Africa

Human Rights Watch

International Refugee Rights Initiative

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project

Sudan Consortium

UN experts call on Sudan to stop threatening women with flogging

UN experts call on Sudan to stop threatening women with flogging

06/11/2013

Two United Nations independent experts today warned Sudan against threatening women with flogging, stressing this practice amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that goes against international law.

“Premarital sex, adultery, failing to prove rape, dressing ‘indecently’ or ‘immorally’, being found in the company of a man, or committing acts that are deemed incompatible with chastity – these are some of the offences for which women have been chastised with flogging in various parts of the world,” said the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo. “This needs to stop.”

On Monday, Amira Osman Hamed, a 35-year-old Sudanese civil engineer and women’s rights activist was charged with dressing indecently or immorally for refusing to cover her hair with a headscarf. If found guilty, she could be sentenced to corporal punishment of up to 40 lashes.

Following Monday’s hearing, Ms. Osman Hamed remains in legal limbo while the prosecution decides if additional hearings will take place or if the case will be dismissed.

“Given continued discrimination and inequalities faced by women, including inferior roles attributed to them by patriarchal and traditional attitudes, and power imbalances in their relations with men, maintaining flogging as a form of punishment, even when it applies to both women and men, means in practice that women disproportionally face this cruel punishment, in violation of their human rights to dignity, privacy and equality,” said Frances Raday, the chairperson of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice.

The experts called for the immediate release of Ms. Osman Hamed and for the Government of Sudan to review its legislation related to flogging.

Under international human rights law, corporal punishment can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or even to torture, and States cannot invoke provisions of domestic law to justify violations of their human rights obligations under international law.

“Corporal punishment of women and girls is usually linked to the control and limitation of their freedom of movement, freedom of association, as well as their personal and sexual choices. Punishment usually has a collective dimension, and is public in character, as the visibility of the issue also serves a social objective, namely, influencing the conduct of other women,” the experts said.

“We call on States to abolish all forms of judicial and administrative corporal punishment, and to act with due diligence to prevent, respond to, protect against, and provide redress for all forms of gender-based violence.”

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قالت اثنتان من خبراء الأمم المتحدة المستقلين لحقوق الإنسان، اليوم الأربعاء، في أعقاب الأنباء الواردة عن حالات جلد لنساء في السودان، "إن جلد المرأة بما في ذلك فيما يتعلق "بالجرائم المتصلة بالشرف" يرقى إلى المعاملة القاسية واللاإنسانية والمهينة في القانون الدولي و يجب أن يتوقف".

وقد مثلت أميرة عثمان حامد، وهي مهندسة مدنية سودانية تبلغ من العمر 35 عاما وناشطة في مجال حقوق المرأة أمام المحكمة يوم الاثنين بتهمة إرتداء الملابس غير المحتشمة أو غير الأخلاقية لرفضها تغطية شعرها. وفي حالة ما إذا تمت إدانتها، فقد يحكم عليها ب 40 جلدة. وقالت مقررة الأمم المتحدة الخاصة المعنية بمسألة العنف ضد المرأة وأسبابه وعواقبه، رشيدة مانجو إن "ممارسة الجنس قبل الزواج، والزنا، والفشل في إثبات الاغتصاب، وارتداء الملابس "غير المحتشمة" أو "غير الأخلاقية"، ومصاحبة رجل، أو ارتكاب الأفعال التي تعتبر منافية للعفة، هي بعض "الجرائم" التي تبرر جلد المرأة في أجزاء مختلفة من العالم. يجب ان يتوقف ذلك. لا ينبغي إرغام النساء مثل أميرة على العيش في خوف من التعرض للجلد. ويتعين على الحكومات وقف جلد النساء والفتيات". ومن جانبها قالت فرانسيس راداي، رئيسة الفريق العامل المعني بمسألة التمييز ضد المرأة في القانون وفي الممارسة العملية، إن إدانة النساء تتم على نحو غير متناسب حول الجرائم التي يعاقب عليها بالجلد. وأضافت "ونظرا لاستمرار التمييز وعدم المساواة التي تواجهها المرأة، بما في ذلك الأدوار المتدنية التي تنسبها لها المواقف الأبوية والتقليدية، واختلال توازن القوى في علاقاتها مع الرجال، والحفاظ على الجلد كشكل من أشكال العقاب، حتى عندما ينطبق على كل من المرأة والرجل، يعني في الممارسة العملية، أن المرأة تواجه هذه العقوبة القاسية بشكل غير متناسب في انتهاك لحقوقها الإنسانية فيما يتعلق بالكرامة والخصوصية والمساواة". ودعت الخبيرتان إلى الإفراج الفوري عن السيدة عثمان حامد، كما حثتا الحكومة السودانية على مراجعة التشريعات المتعلقة بالجلد. يشار إلى أنه بموجب القانون الدولي لحقوق الإنسان، يمكن أن يرقى العقاب البدني إلى مستوى العقوبة القاسية أو اللاإنسانية أو المهينة أو حتى التعذيب، ولا يمكن أن تتذرع الدول بأحكام قانونها الداخلي لتبرير انتهاكات التزاماتها في مجال حقوق الإنسان بموجب القانون الدولي. وأوضحت الخبيرتان "يرتبط العقاب البدني للنساء والفتيات عادة بالسيطرة والحد من حريتهن في التنقل، فضلا عن الخيارات الشخصية والجنسية. وعادة ما تتخذ العقوبة بعدا جماعيا وعلنيا، حيث تسلط الضوء على هدف اجتماعي، وهو التأثير على سلوك النساء الأخريات". وأضافتا "نحن ندعو الدول إلى العمل على إلغاء جميع أشكال العقاب البدني القضائية والإدارية، والتصرف بالجدية الواجبة لمنع جميع أشكال العنف القائم على نوع الجنس وتوفير سبل الانتصاف".

From Toni Morrison To Sudanese Women

From Toni Morrison To Sudanese Women

To a Sudanese Woman:

Some months ago, I watched a video of punishment meted out to you—a lawfully mandated public whipping that I understand is not uncommon in your country. I have seen many instances of human brutality, but this one was particularly harrowing.

In the midst of my revulsion, certain thoughts surfaced.

I have been wondering how much courage it takes to lash a woman. (Even guillotine executioners had the decency to mask their faces to hide their shame as they cut off Heads.) Perhaps the man who whipped you took pride in his expertise: in never missing, always connecting his whip with your flesh. How satisfying it must have been to maul a helpless, weaponless female. How empowering, how masculine. Watching those onlooking men laughing at the spectacle of your humiliation distressed me as much as watching the executioner. I understand that historically the control of women—not only their movements, their speech, but especially their uteri, their ova, their fetuses—is one of the major foundations of sovereign nations. And although certain modern nations are slowly abandoning that ancient requirement, some, like yours, as well as Saudi Arabia and others, cling to male guardian laws as a singular characteristic of power. For them an ovum is a matter of state; sperm is not. The raped is responsible for her assault; the rapist is not.

How afraid such regimes must be, how puerile their claims of power.

I don’t know, or care to know, what “law” you broke. What I do know is that the infractions of which women like you are guilty pertain to their being untethered. And in regimes such as yours—whether chaotic or silently oppressive—the unleashed are lashed: for being alone in public, for mingling with unrelated males, for owning a cellphone, for driving a car, for wearing trousers. The helpless are punished for bearing the child of a rapist employer. And age does not matter. Children of 11 and women of 75 have all been jailed and bloodied for contesting, forgetting, or ignoring incomprehensible, even silly, rules.



Nevertheless, the abused-animal life so many women are required to live is being challenged. The lasting response I had watching that video is the most important. You did not crouch or kneel or assume a fetal position. You shouted. You fell. But you kept rising. After each cut of the lash into your flesh, you tried to stand; you raised your body up like a counter-whip. It so moved me to see your reactions; I interpreted them as glimmers of hope, of principled defiance.

Each cut tearing your back hurts women all over the world. Each scar you bear is ours as well. I have no advice for you and would not presume to offer any, but like thousands of women everywhere I will not give in to sorrow or retreat into despair. Women are speaking out, saying aloud what you are forbidden to say at all, doing in public what you are not ever permitted to do. They are gathering together, demanding that your efforts to rise up in the face of brutality are not in vain.

Sincerely,

Toni Morrison

Morrison, a Nobel Laureate and Pulitzer-prize winning author, is a board member of Advancing Human Rights.

Sudan Protests Test Al-Bashir

Sudan Protests Test  Al-Bashir

by Emily Mankowsk



Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is facing the greatest threat to his leadership since he seized power in 1989.

Demonstrations that began in Khartoum on Monday, September 23rd, to protest a dramatic cut in fuel subsidies have spread throughout Sudan and intensified with the government’s bloody response. While the final trajectory remains unclear, the unprecedented scope of protests and the government’s use of live ammunition, internet shutdowns, and widespread detentions have led some Sudan experts to speculate this could be the end for Bashir.

Dozens of people were reportedly killed in the first few days of protests, including at least 50 shot in the chest or head on Tuesday and Wednesday alone. An increased security presence met protesters ahead of evening prayers on Friday, causing further clashes and reported deaths that may now number well over 100.

While government attacks in Darfur and other parts of Sudan have been ongoing for years, unrest and mass killing has rarely touched Khartoum and other cities currently facing mass protests.

Bashir’s announcement on Sunday that the government will cut fuel subsidies led to an increase by almost100% in the price of gasoline and diesel overnight. In addition, the Sudanese pound has sharply depreciated in value over the past few weeks and the prices of essential food products, like sugar, have risen dramatically. The combination of these shifting economic factors and continuing political unrest over Bashir’s regime triggered a public outcry.

Thousands gathered in the city of Wed Madani on Monday, but soon the protests spread across the nation with news outlets reporting demonstrations in the capital, Khartoum, Omdurman, Port Sudan, Atbara, Gedarif, Nyala, Kosti, Ed Obeid, Ed Damazin, Kassala, and Sinnar.



The protests initially began peacefully, however violence quickly erupted in many of the cities. It has been reported that civilians have set fire to cars, petrol stations, and police buildings and thrown rocks at the security forces. In response, Sudanese police and National Security and Intelligence Services (NISS) officers fired tear gas and live ammunition in attempts to control and disperse the crowds.

While the Sudanese government insists that fewer than 29 people have died over the past four days of protests, credible news sources and activist groups put the death toll at minimum of 50 casualties as of Friday, September 27th. However, some Sudanese opposition groups maintain that the number of deceasedexceeds 100. Most of the victims ranged between 19-26 years of age, the majority of them students. One of the deceased was a 14-year old boy from North Khartoum. Hundreds more civilians have reportedly been detained by Sudan’s NISS, including activists, demonstrators, political opposition leaders, and students.

Lucy Freeman, Amnesty’s deputy chief for Africa, said the police’s “aiming at protesters’ chests and heads” is a “blatant violation of the right to life,” urging authorities to end the violent repression of the protestors.

The Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Taha, who was addressing an event in Khartoum on Thursday, said that his government does not fear those demonstrations and insisted that the economic measures decided this week will remain in place. Sudan’s Minister of Information Ahmed Bilal Osman told Al Jazeera that the protests were forms of “terroristic attacks” meant only to cause chaos in the country.

The Sudanese government appears to be doing all that they can to contain the protests, but the oppression seems to have only incited the people more. Around 3,000 people took to the streets again on Friday in Omdurman demanding freedom and the resignation of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.



The U.S. State Department issued a statement denouncing the Sudanese government’s crackdown on protests, the excessive use of force against civilians, and the inhibiting of universal rights of freedom of speech and assembly.

The U.S. statement and the violent actions of the Bashir regime underscore the level of absurdity and potentialembarrassment of a near visit by Bashir this week to New York to address the UN General Assembly. Bashir had stated his intention to travel to New York on the very same day he announced the subsidy cuts, going as far as to say he had secured a flight and hotel.

Sudanese 'diplomats spying for agents that torture in Khartoum'

The Telegraph : Sudanese 'diplomats spying for agents that torture in Khartoum'

By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Badaoui Malik Badaoui, a Darfur refugee, was arrested at Khartoum airport in July last year to face questions about his attendance at demonstrations at Downing St and outside the Sudanese embassy in St James in 2010.


Over a period of nine days in detention, he suffered daily beatings after undergoing questions for shaming Darfur.


Another activist, who has applied for asylum, known only as Yassir said he was also held last January just months after attending an even in the House of Lords about Sudan descent in conflict in three restive provinces. He is convinced that the security agents at Khartoum airport were acting on intelligence gathered in London.


"I think there are some refugees that are not genuine but have been sent here by the Mukhabarat (Sudan Security Services) to monitor the rest of us," he said. "They said they had sent me to London to make a human of me," he said. "They said 'you are a black slave, you will never be the equivalent of an Arab. We sent you to the UK and you have come back brainwashed against us."


"We believe there are government spies writhing the Sudanese community," said Kamal Kambal, an activist for the Nuba people, who are fighting for greater autonomy from Khartoum. "They knew the whole story of that meeting and used it against Yassir during his arrest."
Baroness Kinnock, the wife of the former Labour leader, said she had hosted an event by the activist organisation Waging Peace. She said a report issued by the organisation into the incident had established that there was infiltration by Sudanese agents.


"It makes it clear that the Sudanese government is spying on Sudanese individuals in the UK and that this can result in their detention and torture when they return to Sudan. I was appalled to hear of the arrest, detention and torture of a Sudanese man because of his attendance at an event in Parliament which I chaired.

"The government must look again at the activities of the Sudanese intelligence agencies in this country and investigate the claims of torture by the Sudanese National Intelligence Services made by those who have been returned."

In response to questions from Gareth Thomas, a Labour MP, the Foreign Office said it was aware of the reports of torture detailed by the campaign group Waging Peace. "We have frequently made clear, publicly and in private discussions with the Sudanese authorities, our concerns over the ill-treatment of detainees in Sudan," Mark Simmonds, a junior minister said.

However Mr Thomas said the government should act against Sudanese spying in the UK.

"If this sort of activity is taking place in the UK and the government has gathered evidence of representatives of the Sudanese government or Sudanese involved in monitoring the community on behalf of the government, the Foreign Office should be calling in the ambassador to explain these activities and a stand should be taken," Mr Thomas said.

In written questions to the Foreign Office, Mr Thomas has demanded that officials establish if Sudanese with British links have been tortured on return to Khartoum and report to parliament on how people may have been affected by the practice.

Sudanese interrogators have presented video and other surveillance evidence of opposition meetings in British citizens. One man, known only as A in the report, said he was presented with photos of himself at two separate meetings on the Edgware Road with opposition activists as proof of his political involvement.

Mohammad Nuradin spent more than three years in Sudanese prisons after returning from the country in 2004 after a three year spell in Europe, including a period in London. After escaping Sudan in 2009, he came back to Britain but the Manchester-based activist faces deportation after his asylumn claim was rejected.

"I am worried about going back. They already know that I have gone to protest – there are cameras on us at the embassy when we go on demonstrations, there are people spying in the rooms when we have meetings and they already know that I have escaped from the country," Mr Nuradin said. "I fear they will catch me at the airport."

Mr Nuradin said he was beaten, sometimes by hand, sometimes with a metal pipe or rifle butt of a rifle. He suffered cigarette burns and was made to stand in the sun all day. At night cold water was thrown on him as he slept.

Activists said a government review of the official assessment of the risk of torture faced by Sudanese returned from the UK must reflect the new evidence.

"Many democracy campaigners from Sudan also face deportation back to a country that will torture and possibly kill them. The Home Office should recognise the risk they face, if deported, and defend their right to sanctuary," said Olivia Warham, a director of Waging Peace.

British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Report The human rights situation in Sudan deteriorated between July and September 2013.

British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Report

The human rights situation in Sudan deteriorated between July and September 2013.

The human rights situation in Sudan deteriorated between July and September 2013. The worsening of tribal conflict and lawlessness in Darfur, and violent demonstrations in Khartoum and several other cities at the end of September, were significant causes for concern.


Fighting has continued between the government of Sudan and the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reporting new fighting in North and South Kordofan between 23 and 28 July. The intensity of fighting has reduced since then with the onset of the rainy season.

A one-month unilateral ceasefire was declared by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (a banned militant organisation) from 1 September. However, in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile there were further credible reports of aerial bombardment of rebel-held areas by the Sudanese Armed Forces, with civilian casualties. There were also reports of at least 12 civilian deaths due to unexploded ordinance in South Kordofan. Human rights groups have reported that the government of Sudan continues to detain without charge civilians suspected to be members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North in the government-held areas in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Most are still under detention, but several detainees have now been charged and convicted, and 18 female detainees were released on 20 July.

OCHA assess that the number of those affected or displaced by conflict in the two border states is over one million, although it is impossible to verify these figures without independent access to the areas. OCHA figures state that 225,000 Sudanese have taken refuge in South Sudan and Ethiopia after fleeing the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. OCHA also report that out of 63,000 people displaced by attacks by the SRF in late April, 21,000 had returned to their homes by the end of July. The government of Sudan and the SRF have yet to agree on technical preparations to administer polio vaccines to 165,000 children under five in rebel-held areas, which would include the need for a two-week ceasefire to allow vaccination to take place.

The security situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate, with reports of looting and armed robbery affecting both aid workers and Darfur residents. Seven UNAMID (African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur) peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in South Darfur on 13 July. Armed men attacked and robbed the offices of the American Refugee Committee on 24 August and the International Committee of the Red Cross on 26 August. Inter-tribal fighting has also increased, with over 100 people from the Salamat and Misseriya tribes killed in fighting in Central Darfur on 22-25 July, and nearly three hundred from the Misseriya, Ma’aliya and Reizegat tribes killed in East Darfur on 10-12 August. OCHA reports 134,000 people were newly displaced as a result of this fighting, and remain unreachable due to government restrictions on humanitarian access to many areas in Darfur.

Political freedom deteriorated significantly towards the end of the period. Following the lifting of fuel subsidies at the end of September, there were a number of protests in Khartoum, Wad Medani and other cities around Sudan. There were credible reports that over 100 protesters and police were killed, and hundreds more injured, with live ammunition being used by security forces on protesters. Over 600 political activists and protestors were detained by the authorities.

Newspapers continued to be subject to censorship: around ten editions of newspapers were confiscated for publishing material the authorities disapproved of between July and mid-September. During the protests in late September, security services issued a directive against negative articles on the lifting of subsidies. Up to three Sudanese newspapers were banned from publishing for indefinite periods. The Khartoum bureaux of Sky News and Al Arabiya were closed down by the authorities. Up to 400 journalists are reported to have gone on strike as a result of the directives. Up to four newspapers have chosen not to publish.

On 2 July, the Sudanese Parliament adopted an amendment to the Armed Forces Act that could allow civilians to be tried in military courts. In August, President Bashir announced that International NGOs would not be allowed to work on human rights. The effects of both acts remain to be seen. A Christian international aid worker was forced to leave Sudan in August after security forces alleged he was engaged in proselytisation work. A positive development was the 8 September release of a political prisoner from the Popular Congress Party, after almost 12 years in prison.

There were several cases of concern in the courts in this period. A police officer from Darfur who wrote a report on corruption was sentenced to four years in prison on 23 August on charges of discrediting the police and creating false information. A woman from Khartoum is being tried for public indecency after refusing to cover her head in a government office in Jebel Aulia, and could face flogging. Sudanese lawyers also report continued harassment of Darfuri students by the police and security forces, including beatings, arbitrary arrest, and mistreatment while in detention.

Religious freedoms in Sudan continue to be an issue of concern; FCO officials continue to raise this issue with senior interlocutors in the government of Sudan.

Update: 30 June 2013

The human rights situation in Sudan deteriorated significantly between April and June 2013 largely due to escalating conflict and insecurity.

Fighting between the government of Sudan and the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) intensified with a major attack by the SRF at the end of April on the towns of Umm Rawaba in North Kordofan and Abu Karshola in South Kordofan. According to OCHA figures, 63,000 people were displaced in this fighting. There are reports from local human rights groups that SRF soldiers looted the towns and killed an unknown number of civilians. In June, SRF forces shelled the state capital of Kadugli on a number of occasions hitting a UN compound and killing a UN peacekeeper and also hitting a local football stadium that was hosting a regional tournament. FCO Minister Simmonds made a statement condemning the attack.

Meanwhile, Sudan Armed Forces continued their campaign of aerial bombardment in South Kordofan and Blue Nile with credible reports that civilian settlements were affected. Human rights groups have also reported that the government of Sudan continues to detain without charge civilians suspected to be members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North in the government-held areas in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

OCHA now assess that the number of those affected or displaced by conflict in the two borderstates may be as high as 907,000 in South Kordofan and 158,000 in Blue Nile, although it is impossible to verify these figures without independent access to the areas. OCHA also report that there are now 223,000 Sudanese refugees in South Sudan and Ethiopia who fled the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

In Abyei, on May 4, the Paramount Chief of Dinka Ngok, Kuol Deng Majok, and a United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) peacekeeper were killed when armed men attacked their convoy in the area of Baloom. FCO Minister Simmonds issued a statement expressing deep concern and urging restraint on all sides.

In Darfur, worsening insecurity led to massive displacements with OCHA estimating that there have been over 300,000 new IDPs since the beginning of the year, including 27,000 refugees who fled to Chad and 3,500 who have fled to the Central African Republic. This was driven by a number of factors, including inter-communal fighting over resources and clashes between government and armed movement forces, particularly in parts of Northern, Southern and Central Darfur. Access to people affected by conflict in Darfur remains constrained due to the government of Sudan’s new Directives for Humanitarian Work issued in March, under which access by international humanitarian organisations and their staff to conflict areas is fully restricted.

There were no real improvements on political and civil rights in this reporting period. On 1 April, President Bashir made a positive speech calling for national dialogue with all opposition forces and ordering the release of some political detainees. But there has been no further progress on implementation of this new approach. Furthermore, Vice-President Taha issued a directive to lift pre-publication censorship on newspapers. However, since his directive, security services have temporarily suspended at least three newspapers due to their reporting.

A further concerning development was the case of three men sentenced to amputations of the hand for theft in a court in El Fasher, North Darfur, in June. The sentences have not yet been carried out. Human rights organisations also report that in June, a female student was fined for wearing trousers by a public order court in Khartoum.

Religious freedoms have come under threat with evidence of a trend towards religious intolerance. Since September 2012, at least 215 foreign Christians have been expelled from Sudan with some having their assets in-country confiscated by security services. There are also many examples of Sudanese and South Sudanese Christians being harassed and sometimes detained by security services and some church premises closed down or demolished. FCO officials have raised strong concerns about this trend with senior interlocutors in the government of Sudan.

The UN Independent Expert on Human Rights in Sudan, Professor Mashood Baderin, visited the country from 16th – 19th June. The government of Sudan offered cooperation during his visit and he travelled to the state capitals in South Darfur and Blue Nile and to parts of North Kordofan. British Embassy officials met the Independent Expert during his visit to feed in views ahead of his report to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2013.

Update: 31 March 2013

The first three months of 2013 have shown no signs of progress on the human rights situation in Sudan. Internal conflicts show little sign of abating, and numerous restrictions on freedom of expression remain in place.

The Government of Sudan and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) have yet to begin talks aimed at ending the conflict and allowing access for humanitarian purposes in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, despite calls for them to do so from the African Union, supported by the UNSC. Latest figures from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) suggest that more than one million people from both states have now been displaced or severely affected, while full access for humanitarian purposes continues to be blocked by the government. It is not possible to make a complete and accurate needs assessment in the absence of such access, but we judge that high levels of food insecurity persist in both states. We urge parties to the conflict to commit to talks without preconditions, aimed at an immediate cessation of hostilities and agreement to full and independent humanitarian access.

In Darfur, 10 years after the outbreak of conflict, there has been a recent further upsurge in violence. This is adding to the already substantial humanitarian need in an area where 1,430,000 internally displaced people in camps rely on food aid. We have pressed the Government of Sudan to meet their obligations under the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur to draw this conflict to a close, as well as allowing unrestricted access for humanitarian and security groups.

Since the start of the year we have been told of cases of international Christian institutions and individuals being harassed by the Sudanese security forces, including the detention of individuals without charge and the confiscation of scriptural books and travel documents. We believe that over 150 non-Sudanese Christians have left Sudan following harassment from the security services. We have raised our concerns for the treatment of Christians jointly with other international partners.

Political expression during this period has been an area of equal concern. In the last three months the Sudanese Authorities have arrested and detained signatories to the New Dawn Charter, a political manifesto calling for change in Sudan. Those detained have included a British dual national, to whom we have requested consular access without success. We are concerned about the welfare of those detained. We, along with EU partners, continue to raise these cases with the Government of Sudan.

In this period we have also been told of a case of amputation as punishment for theft. While provided for by Sudan’s Penal Code, there has been a de facto moratorium on this punishment since 1984, with the exception of a case in 2001, and this latest application is a deeply worrying development. Claims that judges could be trained to perform the amputations should medical professionals refuse to carry them out are also of great concern to the international community. The EU formally raised our serious concerns about this incident with the Sudanese Ambassador in Brussels on 7 March.

It is welcome news that the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, Professor Mashood Adebayo Baderin, visited Sudan for the second time in February 2013, and was able to visit Darfur. His statement upon completion of his visit highlights the growing number of humanitarian concerns within Sudan and underlines our call for the government to fully cooperate with him as he performs his duties in accordance with the mandate from the UN Human Rights Council.

Stop Human Rights Violations in Sudan

Stop Human Rights Violations in Sudan

Given the Sudanese government’s history of human rights violations, detainees are at grave risk of perdition. There is no adequate information of their whereabouts and/or charges. "Freedom of press worsened since the recent uprising in September 2013." Faisal M. Salih, laureate of Peter Mackler Award commented. We, group of Sudanese activists in Washington DC will hold a hunger strike in front of the White House (Oct 21-25) in solidarity with Sudanese rightful aspirations .Our goal is to pressure the Sudanese government to respond to the following demands: -Immediate release of political detainees and stop of arbitrary arrest; - Bringing those responsible of killing protestors to court; - Respecting freedom of press and media expression in Sudan.Your support is essential to serve justice. Equally important, China, Iran and Qatar should revisit their political and economic associations with the Sudanese government for they are enabling the violation of human rights violations

Stop Human Rights Violations in Sudan

Sign Here

Brief on the ongoing developments and human rights situation in Sudan Prepared by Sudanese civil society groups in Sweden in consultation with two civil society organizations in Khartoum

منظمات المجتمع المدني السودانية في السويد تتقدم بمذكرة للخارجية السويدية حول وضع الحريات وحقوق الإنسان في السودان

ستكهولم، 7 اكتوبر 2013: في إطار تكثيف الضغط الدولي علي الحكومة السودانية ، دفعت مجموعة من منظمات المجتمع المدني السودانية بالسويد بمذكرة لوزارة الخارجية السويدية حول الوضع الراهن للحريات وحقوق الإنسان في السودان إثر الإحتجاجات واسعة النطاق التي تشهدها البلاد. هدفت المذكرة إلى التنوير بمجريات الأحداث الحالية في السودان، وإلى وضع قضية الانتهاكات في السودان في أجندة الحكومة السويدية لخلق مزيد من الضغط على الحكومة السودانية . كشفت المذكرة حجم الانتهاكات التي ارتكبها نظام الخرطوم ضد حقوق الإنسان وحرية التعبير، منددةً بالتصدي الحكومي الدموي للتظاهرات السلمية، ومنوهةً إلى ضرورة ايقاف الانتهاكات الحالية وإطلاق سراح المعتقلين فوراً أو تقديمهم للعدالة علاوةً على إجراء تحقيق شفاف حول الانتهاكات الأخيرة وتحويل المجرمين إلى القضاء، مع ضمان حرية التعبير والتوقف عن تضييق الخناق على كتاب الرأي. تأتي هذه المذكرة مكملة للحراك الجماهيري الذي نظمه السودانيون في السويد في الأيام القليلة الماضية والذي بدأ يوم الأربعاء 2 أكتوبر بالتظاهر أمام السفارة السودانية بإستكهولم مشفعاً تلك المبادرة بتظاهرة كبرى في وسط العاصمة إستكهولم يوم السبت 5 أكتوبر شارك فيها مجموعه من السودانيين  و منظمات المجتمع المدني السودانية والروابط الإقليمية رفضاً للدموية و الوحشية التي يتعامل بها النظام في السودان و الأجهزة الأمنية و الشرطية مع المدنيين مما أسفر عما يفوق ال 200 شهيد و 700 جريح و ما يفوق 2000 معتقل في سجون النظام ناهيك عن الاستهداف الواضح لوسائل الإعلام المحلية و الدولية . وهي دعوة للجميع بالتظاهر أمام سفارات السودان في جميع أنحاء العالم لكشف وتنوير المجتمع الدولي ومراكز صنع القرار بمجريات الأحداث الراهنة في السودان.

 أيمن عادل أمين

ع/ منظمات المجتمع المدني الموقعة على المذكرة

Sudanese civil society organizations in Sweden, advancing to the note of the Swedish Foreign about the status of civil liberties and human rights in Sudan Stockholm , 7 October 2013: in the context of intensified international pressure on the Sudanese government , led a group of Sudanese civil society organizations in Sweden memorandum to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden on the current situation of human rights and freedoms in Sudan after large-scale protests taking place in the country . The purpose of the memo to enlightenment informed of current events in Sudan, and to put the issue of violations in Sudan in the Swedish government's agenda to create more pressure on the Sudanese government. Revealed note the size of abuses committed by the regime in Khartoum against human rights and freedom of expression, condemning addressing government bloody peaceful demonstrations, and noting the need to stop the violations of current and release the detainees immediately or bring them to justice as well as to conduct a transparent investigation on recent violations and convert criminals to justice, while ensuring freedom expression and stop cracking down on opinion writers. Comes this note complementary to the motionless mass organized by the Sudanese in Sweden in the past few days , which began on Wednesday, October 2nd to demonstrate in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Stockholm supporting the initiative demonstration a major center of the capital Stockholm on Saturday, October 5 in which a total of Sudanese and civil society organizations, Sudanese and links regional rejection of the brutal and bloody regime is dealing in Sudan , the security services and police with civilians, resulting in what more than 200 killed and 700 wounded and more than 2,000 detainees in the prisons of the system not to mention the apparent targeting of the media , both domestic and international . It is a call for everyone to demonstrate in front of the embassies of Sudan in all parts of the world to detect and inform the international community and the decision-making centers informed of current events in Sudan.
Ayman Adel Amin
from Civil society Group sign the Statement

To : Swedish Foreign Minister

 “That was on Monday 23^rd 2013 at 5:45 pm. We have been arrested from a peaceful demonstration in the neighborhood. (…) My brother El  Sheikh was beaten and his head was injured in three places according to the medical report (…), his  collar-bone was broken in addition to several bruises. We haven’t been allowed to go to the hospital. He was bleeding all the night. This made him swoon. As for me, I have been beaten by several soldiers. They were too many and attacked me like flies. They have beaten me with countless hoses, but I can track their traces in my body. They dragged me across the floor, called me bad names using the rudest words. I have been threatened with group rape. One of them even molested me. Can you imagine?”

From testimony of the young Sudanese novelist Ms. Rania Mamoun

Brief on the ongoing developments and human rights situation in Sudan

Prepared by Sudanese civil society groups in Sweden in consultation with two civil society organizations in Khartoum

Stockholm 7^th October, 2013

On 23^rd September peaceful protests started in Medani, central Sudan in response to the government decision to cut subsidy of oil products, and consequently increase prices of fuel and food items. One day later protests expanded to the capital city of Omdurman Khartoum, Khartoum North and other major towns of Sudan. Demonstrators soon shifted from protesting against subsidy cuts to demand regime change and democracy.

Police and National Congress Party militias dealt with protests violently by using excessive and unnecessary force. This led to several killings and injuries among peaceful protesters. Recent estimates indicate that death toll amounts to over 200 lives and 700 injuries. In parallel to this cruelty authorities arrested more than 2000 of activists. The Minister of Interior declared on 27^th September that they have arrested 600, two days later the Sudanese Committee for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms (SCDRF), a human rights group in Khartoum announced that the number of detainees have increased to1000. Based on the most recent experience of similar protest in June-July 2012, human rights groups are deeply concerned of the safety of detainees. According to some activists and demonstrators released from detention, as well as a number of well-documented incidents and rampant cases, torture is a routine practices in secret detention centers run by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) as well as in police custodies in Sudan. It is also reported that most of the leaders of opposition parties are subject to detention and house arrest. Furthermore, eyewitnesses report orchestrated destruction of private properties in different parts of Khartoum by security agents to justify brutality against protesters and use of excessive force.

The Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated on 27^th September that “Security forces [in Sudan] are reported to have used excessive force in suppressing the protests, with security agents allegedly firing live ammunition at some protesters and beating others. Witnesses speak of bodies of dead demonstrators with gunshot wounds in the upper torso and head. There have also been reports of destruction of property by demonstrators”. In a joint statement with African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, Lucy Freeman, Africa Deputy Director at Amnesty International said “Shooting to kill – including by aiming at protesters’ chests and heads – is a blatant violation of the right to life, and Sudan must immediately end this violent repression”

In addition to killing, Government of Sudan spared no effort to curtail freedom of expression in Sudan during this week of protests. Since 25^th September Internet service was interrupted several times including a full blackout on 25^th. Electronic media and news outlets are frequently blocked. Also, according to Journalist for Human Rights (JHR), a human rights group focus on media freedoms, the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) summoned on 25^th all editors of Khartoum printed dailies and warned them collectively to abstain from publishing on a long list of topics including subsidy cuts, demonstrations, killings of protesters and detentions of activists. They have been instructed to confine their news stories to what they receive from NISS or from the official spokespersons of police and army. Obtaining information from other sources including victims and medical staff in hospitals is strictly prohibited. A number of journalists and columnists are prohibited from publishing since the beginning of the protests.

The Sudanese Human Rights Monitor, an organization based in Khartoum reported that three dailies were confiscated on 19th September. These were Al Ayam, Al Jareeda and Al Intibaha. On 24th Aljareeda was again confiscated and columnists Zuhair Al Sarraj was banned from writing for seven days. In response to clear instructions by NISS on the coverage of protests, Al Ayam daily decided on 26th September to voluntarily stop publishing as 'censorship made it impossible to publish a newspaper within the minimum professional ethics' according to its editor, Mr. Mahjoub M. Salih. At least two more dailies decided later to stop publishing.

Representatives of foreign media have also been harassed. According to human rights sources, corresponded of the satellite channel Al Arabia was arrested for some hours, his license was withdrawn and his broadcast office in Khartoum was closed down. The correspondent of the US TV Al Hurra in Medani has been arrested, Skynews correspondent have been summoned and presenter Sulf Abudafir of the local Al Masa TV has been arrested for a short period and warned not to cover protests.

Reading these developments with the grave violations of human rights committed by the current Sudanese regime including Darfur genocide and the atrocities against the peoples of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains, concerns about potential large scale violence are pressing. We invite Sweden, the EU and all actors in the international community to use their bilateral and multilateral channels to pressurize the Government of Sudan to:

• Respect their obligations under Sudan 2005 Interim Constitutions and international law. They must immediately stop killing peaceful demonstrators;
• Release all detainees or bringing them to court in a due legal process as soon as possible. In all cases the Sudan government must guarantee their safety and bodily integrity; and
• Initiate independent investigation into the killing of demonstrators including those killed in Nyala, South Darfur last month, and bring perpetrators, whoever they are to justice.
• Respect freedom of expression and stop application of all types of censorship and harassments against journalists and writers.

If the we are drawing lessons from the atrocities committed in Darfur, Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Yemen, world must act now and firmly to stop using excessive force against peaceful protesters.

The undersigned:

1. Sudanese Revolutionary Committee in Sweden
2. Darfur Association in Sweden
3. The Nubian Association in Sweden
4. Nuba mountains Peoples Association  in Sweden
5.  Sudan Liberal Democratic Party
6. Sudan People's Liberation Movement/ North(SPLM/N)
7. The Sudan Front for Change (SFC)
8. Human Rights Organization- Sudan (HROS)
9. Freedom of Expression Campaign  - Sudan
10. Two Civil Society Organization From Sudan

SUDAN DETAINED JOURNALISTS WHO SUPPORTED ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS

SUDAN DETAINED JOURNALISTS WHO SUPPORTED ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS

By Amanda Sperber

06/Oct/2013

Last Monday night, Abdel-Rahman El-Mahdi slept in his car outside Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) compound's gates. His wife, Dahlia Elroubi, had been arrested after eight NISS agents visited their home in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital.

When the NISS agents arrived, Abdel sent his three children to their rooms. “I said [to the NISS agents], ‘Do you have a search warrant?’” Abel told me over the phone two days later. “They said, ‘No. We are national security, and we don’t need a search warrant.’” The agents tossed Dahlia—along with her camcorder, camera, photocopy machine, and small printer—into their car.

After the agents drove away, Abdel jumped in his car and drove after them. “They drove to the palace compound, and that was where I lost contact with her,” Abdel said. While his mother watched his three kids, Abdel spent the next day outside the gates, exhausted and wearing rumpled clothes. Authorities gave Abdel few details about why they arrested his wife.

This isn't surprising. In the midst of Sudan's ongoing economic crisis, President Omar Al-Bashir's regime decided to lift fuel subsidies, doubling prices. Citizens began to demonstrate in the streets on September 23rd, and in the last two weeks, authorities detained 700 people and started to crackdown on the media.

“I think she got arrested because she spoke her mind about what she believes in,” Abdel said. “She believes that the people killed in the protests were killed unjustly. There was no reason for them to die.”

“They are being pushed down by their government,” he said. “She believed for the future of our children, these things cannot go on.”

The government responded more aggressively and excessively to the demonstrations than many expected. Amnesty International reports more than 200 people were killed in the protests, although others on the ground believe the number is much higher.

“The recent crackdown on activists of all sorts is a desperate attempt at intimidation—much like the killings in the first few days of this current uprising—and to quell the unrest,” said Yousif Khalid, an activist who requested his name be changed because he fears government reprisal.

The government isn’t only silencing individuals’ voices. Several Sudanese newspapers were forced to shut down, and the government pressured others to depict the protesters as “saboteurs.” Four days after the protests started, the government shut down Al-Arabiya’s TV office in Khartoum. According to the Associated Press, several newspapers stopped publishing to avoid government pressure. Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti defended the clampdown. Last Sunday, hetold Al-Arabiya, “Media make revolutions. If the revolution is created by media, we have to be serious in dealing with it.”

Dr. Harry Verhoeven, an African politics professor at Oxford University, told me on the phone that he heard that several newspapers’ editors-in-chief were called in for a meeting and told not to report on the protests.

Dr. Verhoeven said, “Media freedom expands and contracts in Sudan. There is quite a bit of vibrancy and good journalism, and you'd sometimes be amazed what people can write or say, but coming too close to the red lines or hitting the wrong note at times of crisis is very dangerous.”

“The regime prefers not to kill or torture, but to shut down publications temporarily or to ensure no advertiser will lend its funds to the newspaper—an equally effective, but far less costly tactic,” he said. “There is also a long tradition of pre-publication censorship, during which NISS agents visit the newspaper the evening before publication and scan everything. This was officially lifted less than a year ago, but the threat—and occasionally practice—remains and as such encourages self-censorship.”

In recent weeks, journalists questioned these tactics. “Why do you insist on lying?” said journalist Burham Abdel-Moneim in a press conference after Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed claimed photos posted on social networking sites of slain student protesters were fabricated and depicted protests in Egypt, not Sudan. Authorities immediately imprisoned Burhan after the conference, and the Washington Post said Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman could be heard muttering, “... will take measures against you.”

A Facebook page dedicated to freeing Burham received over 5,000 likes in less than two hours. Burham was released a few hours later, but hasn’t spoken about what happened to him. When he gave an interview later that evening, he appeared shaken. Even the anchor asked him if he was OK. Yousif said, “He was not as bold. Even the anchor asked him, ‘What was the matter?’ I think they threatened him with his family. Of course, he claimed he was all right. The interview was cut short.”

Another Sudan-based journalist, who has understandably requested to remain anonymous, emailed me. The journalist wrote, “[sic] I am afraid these days to pitch any article because the security forces are chasing the activists and the journalists, although they closed my newspaper two years ago and prevented me and other journalists from working at the other newspapers. But they [are] watching us all the time. When these demonstrations started, I published two articles about them, and I am not sure what will happen to me when they [see] my articles.”

Another particularly harrowing account came from Rania Mamoun, an award-winning novelist. On aSudanese blog, she described being arrested with her brother and sister on September 24th:

I was hit by a large number of soldiers, who circled me like flies. The beating was intense and meant to hurt and abuse and many rods were used that I lost count. I can trace the effect on my body where marks are many. They dragged me on the ground and called me all sorts of names then threatened me with gang rape. I was even harassed by one of them, imagine.

With the continued beatings I reached the stage where I did not feel pain with every new strike that followed. Numbness, stiffness, or my body sagging or becoming a bag of cotton has enabled me to become indifferent or senseless. To be made senseless by beating is the ultimate level of pain and torture.

Authorities beat Rania's brother, breaking his collarbone, and then left him on the prison floor, where he bled until he lost consciousness.

To accomplish these efficient clampdowns, the NISS acquired an incredible network of informers in hotels, taxis, petrol stations, ministries, and youth gatherings. They also acquired very advanced ICT systems to monitor phone and internet activity—many activists believed these systems rely on the assistance of national telecom companies. “[No telecommunications company] will refuse to give security services the information they ask for,” said Yousif. “Applications like Whatsapp, [which are] very popular in Sudan, rely on your real phone number to give you an account. See where I'm going with this?”

The protests in Sudan fizzled out because the NISS was able to oppress demonstrators through different forms: arrests, detention, threats, and information obtained through technology. In this way, Dr. Verhoeven said the Sudanese security forces have been more successful at suppressing uprisings than their “colleagues in North Africa.”

Dr. Verhoeven remained skeptical that these protests could cause a political shift. “Even though lots of my friends in Sudan are trying to convince me that this time is somehow different, this time their tactics are really calibrated, and this time they are really fed up with the regime, I am not convinced of that yet,” he said. He saw this situation play out many times before, but is waiting to make a judgment call. As he noted, so far, more people were killed during these protests than previous demonstrations.

However, many disagreed with Dr. Verhoeven. After seeing non-activists take to the streets, Yousif believed discontent had spread far enough and deep enough for the government’s political intimidation to be insufficient to stop the protests.

When Abdel thought about the detention of his wife, he considered himself strangely fortunate. He said, “I am getting a lot of support, from family, from people outside, like yourself, calls with Amnesty. There are a lot of other people who have no clue what to do. I am a lucky one. I hope the opportunities I have to get her out, I can use to help others.” Despite not hearing news about his wife for days, he continued to actively post on social media and organize protests with other families in front of the NISS headquarters.

Rania’s essay ended with a defiant statement that reminded me of Abdel’s beliefs: “Your beating and your torture does not frighten me nor break me. It will not force me to retreat, but rather strengthens me and inspires me. You ask me: Are you not afraid? And I say: I’ve become stronger.”

As Abdel waited for news about his wife, his strength continued to be tested.

More about Sudan:

Sudan Revolts: Internet Blackouts and Protesters Dead in the Streets

Capturing the Violent and Complex Birth of South Sudan

Inside Sudan