A Sudanese student activist entered
the 11th day of a hunger strike to protest his arrest without
charge after he participated in a protest at the University of
Khartoum, his lawyer and a family member said.
Taj Alsir Jaafar, 25, a member of a youth movement known as
Girifna, or “we’re fed up,” was arrested on Dec. 30 after
participating in a university protest in support of people
displaced by the Merowe Dam, north of Khartoum, said his lawyer,
Abdul Moneam Adam. London-based Amnesty International urged
Sudan on Jan. 24 to release Jaafa, saying he’s “at risk of
torture or other ill-treatment.”
After reports appeared on Sudanese websites that Jaafar had
died inside Kober prison, his mother and Amani Ali, a cousin,
went to the National Security and Intelligence Service
headquarters in Khartoum. While they were told the news was
false, they weren’t allowed to see him, Ali said.
“We still don’t know if that’s true or not,” Ali said
today by phone. “Last time we visited him, he was really pale,
weak, but we know he’s stubborn and won’t give up.”
Sudanese police spokesman al-Ser Ahmed said he had no
information about Jaafar’s case.
“We don’t know about political detainees,” he said by
phone. “He was detained by the NISS.”
Under Sudan’s 2010 National Security Act, the NISS may
detain a person for 45 days without judicial ovesight before a
prisoner must be released or charged.
Rights Record
Sudan’s human rights record deteriorated last year with the
eruption of new armed conflicts and crackdowns on students,
rights advocates and the media, New York-based Human Rights
Watch said on Jan 22. Police dispersed students protesting over
poor living conditions at the University of Nyala in South
Darfur state on Feb. 20, three days after 400 students at the
University of Khartoum were detained and released the same day.
Sudanese columnist Mohamed Zein el-Abbeddin was detained on
Feb. 20 by the NISS for an article he wrote for al-Tayar
newspaper that criticized Sudanese president Umar al-Bashir, the
security forces and companies owned by the ruling National
Congress Party, according to lawyer Nabil Adib.
The authorities seized the newspaper edition that carried
the article, which was later posted on Girifna’s Facebook page.
The government has brought charges against at least 10 writers
and journalists since March last year for criticizing al-
Bashir’s administration.
“The crackdown on writers, journalists and activists is a
clear violation of the constitutional right of freedom of
expression,” Adib said.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Salma El Wardany in Khartoum at
selwardany@bloomberg.net
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق