Corporate report

Sudan - country of concern update, 30 June 2014

Updated 21 January 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The human rights situation in Sudan remains grave. Of particular note were the death sentence handed down for apostasy to Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag and the continuing violence in Darfur and in South Kordofan and Blue Nile (the “Two Areas”).

Professor Mashood Baderin, UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, conducted his fifth visit to Sudan between 15 and 24 June. In a statement he expressed concern over political detentions, increased media censorship, and the escalation of conflict in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, which has led to increased human rights violations by both government forces and rebel armed movements. The UK, US and Norway (the “Troika”) expressed similar concerns in a statement on 10 June.

At the start of the reporting period, on 6 April, President Bashir announced new guarantees for freedom of expression and political assembly, and decreed the release of all political prisoners. A subsequent presidential decree on 15 April forbade political parties from organising meetings in their own venues without approval and required permission for public meetings 48 hours in advance. Despite this, throughout April, opposition parties were able to hold rallies across the country without incident. There was also an apparent relaxation of press regulation, with widespread reporting of corruption allegations in print media.

Since the start of May, however, there appears to have been a renewed clamp-down on political freedom. In early May, the Republican Party had its request for formal registration rejected. Two opposition leaders were later arrested for speaking out against the actions of the government’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF): Sadiq Al-Mahdi, leader of the Umma Party, on 18 May, and Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, leader of the Sudanese Congress Party, on 8 June. Al-Mahdi was released on 15 June, but Al-Sheikh remains in custody.

There have also been renewed restrictions on freedom of expression since early May, when journalists were prohibited from commenting on certain public matters. The print runs of Al Saiha newspaper were confiscated on 20 May, and the paper suspended indefinitely, although this was lifted on 23 June. Al-Jareeda newspaper’s print runs were confiscated on 8 June and one of its columnists banned from writing. In his statement on 24 June, the Independent Expert said: “the situation of press freedom and media censorship still remains very worrisome”.

Civil society organisations continue to come under a great deal of government scrutiny and many report routine harassment by security services. On 24 June, the Salammah Women’s Resource Centre was closed by decree from the Ministry of Justice. This decision is now being challenged through the courts.

We have continued to call on the government to release public reports on the deaths of over 200 protestors in September 2013 and the death of Darfuri student Ali Abakar Musa in March. To date these have not been produced. However, the UN Independent Expert received a written report on the September demonstrations during his recent visit, and will comment in his next report to the UN Human Rights Council in September. Twenty-four political prisoners were released as a direct result of President Bashir’s 6 April remarks, including those detained following protests over the death of Ali Abakar Musa. The student blogger Tajeldin Ahmed Arja, arrested in December 2013 for accusing the Sudanese and Chadian Presidents of committing atrocities in Darfur, was released after an international campaign.

The government has claimed that all remaining detainees face legitimate charges. However, we are aware of cases where detainees remain in arbitrary detention without charge. On 12 May, three students were arrested in Khartoum for protesting over the death of Ali Abakar Musa. On 10 June, a journalist with al Jareeda newspaper and five students with links to the Sudanese Congress Party were detained without charge. All six have been on hunger strike since 19 June.

We continue to receive direct reports of physical and psychological torture from detainees held by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) at facilities in Khartoum State. Reported mistreatment includes beatings, electric shocks, use of stress positions, sustained exposure to bright lights and extreme cold, intimidation, humiliation and racial verbal abuse. Testimony from the mother of one detained student, Mohammed Saleh, after a visit on 14 June, reported signs of physical torture, including the loss of function in one eye and facial scarring. The Independent Expert was denied permission to visit Saleh to verify these claims.

Within the last three months, the deaths of four detainees in the custody of the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) Military Intelligence Unit in South Darfur and South Kordofan have been documented. There is credible reporting that three of these were the result of torture.

Following the escalation of the government campaign in Darfur in early 2014, there has been a gradual reduction in violence since mid-April. Most of the RSF, which were principally responsible for the recent wave of attacks and human rights abuses, have been relocated. However, RSF elements remain in the region and continue to attack and intimidate civilians.

During the last month, there has been increased violence between Arab tribes, largely over the control of land and resources, but also fuelled by political rivalries. Unaffiliated Arab militias across the region have continued to attack civilians, including women and children, sometimes destroying entire villages.

As of 29 June, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported over 170,000 additional internally displaced persons (IDPs) since 17 March. OCHA has reported an improvement in humanitarian access in certain areas following the reduction of RSF activities, but the International Committee of the Red Cross remains suspended, and the activities of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees are severely compromised.

There has also been a sharp escalation of violence in the “Two Areas”. Since mid-May, the SAF has pursued an indiscriminate aerial bombing campaign, hitting three out of the five hospitals in South Kordofan. These were condemned in an EU statement on 11 May. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan has also spoken out against the Sudanese government bombing of civilians.

We have raised our concerns directly with Sudanese ministers about their government’s actions in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, and called for unfettered access for humanitarian agencies. We have also raised the plight of newly arrived refugees from South Sudan, estimated by UNHCR as over 80,000, calling for Sudan to provide the necessary registration services and ensure full humanitarian access.

The treatment of Eritrean refugees remains of concern, both with respect to illegal trafficking and forcible returns where individuals face a genuine risk of persecution, torture or cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. Human Rights Watch report that on 1 May, the Sudanese authorities in eastern Sudan, in a breach of the principle of non-refoulement, handed 30 Eritreans, including six registered refugees, over to Eritrean security forces. The group had been arrested in early February near the Libyan border, and detained for three months without charge and without access to the UN refugee agency.

Sexual violence in conflict remains a serious concern, and reporting across the period suggests incidents are increasing, against men as well as women. We continue to encourage the government to endorse the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, and maintain a dialogue with civil society organisations. On 11 June, the Embassy hosted an event to mark the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, bringing together civil society activists, victims and international actors to celebrate those who are taking a stand in Sudan.

On 15 May, a pregnant Sudanese woman, Meriam Ibrahim, was sentenced to death for apostasy, in clear violation of Sudan’s own constitution as well as its international human rights obligations on freedom of religion and belief. She subsequently gave birth in shackles, while still in prison. The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, and Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, all called publicly for her immediate release, and the Sudanese Chargé d’Affaires in London (in the absence of an Ambassador) was formally summoned to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Meriam Ibrahim was released on appeal on 23 June. However, at the time of writing she is being denied permission to travel, and we continue to monitor the situation closely.

We are aware of at least one similar case within the reporting period of an individual charged with apostasy: Faiza Abdallah on 1 April. During the trial she recanted her Christianity and was released. The family court subsequently annulled her marriage (to a Christian). Elsewhere in Sudan, Christian groups continue to suffer harassment from the authorities. We continue to raise our concerns regularly with the government about freedoms for religious and other minority groups