The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) reports that more than 10 lawyers and human rights defenders have been killed in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, within a month and a half. ‘Armed militias’ are deliberately targeting and storming the homes of lawyers and human rights defenders, they say.
The DBA is deeply concerned about the growing phenomenon of militias killing, robbing, and intimidating lawyers and human rights defenders in Nyala.
Human rights defender Tamid Ahmed Khamis Rayan, a lawyer in Benyala, was killed last week inside his home in the El Wahda neighbourhood while resisting an armed group that stormed his house, the DBA explained.
Another young man, Ali El Hadi Ali Adam, was killed by an armed militia in the El Wadi neighbourhood in east Nyala. Members of the armed militia also wounded Mohamed Hassan Rahma.
Many others faced similar threats.
Communications through the Sudani network service were restored on Saturday.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been apporached for comment.
The Darfur Bar Association reported that more than 10 lawyers and human rights defenders were killed in Nyala, South #Darfur, within a month and a half. Armed militias are deliberately targeting and storming the homes of lawyers.#Sudan#KeepEyesOnDarfurhttps://t.co/2uRXHu6gKu
Khadir AbdelMajid, a close and loyal friend. killed yesterday result of shells and shrapnel #alGeneina. Khadir founder of Afkar NGO- translated to English as IDEAS. Akhidir is not staff in @Int_IDEA.Khidr is a well-known lawyer in #Darfur, engaged extensively n IDEA activities pic.twitter.com/JK5RLu6tH9
— Sami Abdel-Halim Saeed (@SamiSaeed121) June 11, 2023
PALU has joined in solidarity with other African civil society groups to address the ongoing crisis in #Sudan. A High-Level Dialogue led by @GovtOfKenya together with colleagues from @Af4HA and attended by reps from 13 States, recently concluded discussions regarding the ongoing… pic.twitter.com/yiYspS0pMP
A human rights defender in Nyala was assassinated on Friday by an armed force suspected to be affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Journalist Issa Dafa Allah, reporting from Nyala, informed Sudan Tribune that “the bodies of lawyer and human rights defender Ahmed Abdallah and an employee, Adam Omer, were discovered on the Nyala-El-Fasher road, less than 24 hours after they were abducted by gunmen.”
The incident occurred just one day after they were kidnapped, and their captors had demanded a ransom for their release.
Nyala, a city deeply affected by intense fighting between the army and the paramilitary force, is currently grappling with an unprecedented security crisis due to the widespread presence of armed militias supporting the Rapid Support Forces. These armed groups are actively involved in looting markets and civilian homes.
According to Dafa Allah, the two deceased individuals were abducted on Thursday evening by an armed group dressed in RSF uniforms. The kidnappers used a Land Cruiser vehicle and were armed with automatic weapons when they took the victims from their home in the Al-Rahman neighbourhood in Nyala.
The kidnappers contacted the families of the victims on the same day and demanded approximately 30 million Sudanese pounds as ransom for their release.
PALU has joined in solidarity with other African civil society groups to address the ongoing crisis in #Sudan. A High-Level Dialogue led by @GovtOfKenya together with colleagues from @Af4HA and attended by reps from 13 States, recently concluded discussions regarding the ongoing… pic.twitter.com/yiYspS0pMP
Thousands of #Sudanese refugees mostly from West Darfur, are in dire conditions in Adre, #Chad. There is shortage of all basic services including water, food, shelter & health services. Hundreds are queuing up to fetch water each time we visit the camps. They need urgent support. pic.twitter.com/uDN4dF0l26
Over the past two and a half weeks, four human rights defenders Mohammed Ahmed Kudia, Khamis Arabab, Abdelkhalig Matar and Khidir Sulieman Abdelmageed were killed in El Geneina, West Darfur.
On 28 May 2023, the human rights defender and lawyer Mohammed Ahmed Kudia was killed, his house burned down and property looted by members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.
On 30 May 2023, the human rights defender, lawyer and member of the Darfur Bar Association, Khamis Arabab, was killed when his house in El Geneina was attacked by members of the RSF. For the past two years, he worked to defend victims of attacks on camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in El Geneina. He also provided legal aid to victims of human rights violations in Darfur.
On 5 June 2023, the human rights defender and lawyer Abdelkhalig Matar was killed alongside eight of his family members who were burned in their house in El Geneina.
On 11 June 2023, the human rights defender and head of the human rights organisation Afkar, Khidir Sulieman Abdelmageed, was attacked and killed on the road in El Geneina while trying to leave his house after recieving death threats. The human rights defender worked with several national and international human rights organisations who monitored human rights violations in Sudan. Recentely, he had worked with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in Darfur.
According to an announcement from the Darfur Bar Association in May 2023, the human rights defenders and lawyers Mohammed Ahmed Kudia, Khamis Arabab, Abdelkhalig Matar had also recieved death threats from militia members while working on cases related to attacks on IDP camps in El Geneina prior to their killings.
— Front Line Defenders (@FrontLineHRD) June 16, 2023
Fighting in #Sudan has intensified for a second day after a ceasefire ended on Sunday. The Darfur Bar Association, which monitors the conflict in the region, says 17 people were killed by shelling on Monday, and 100 had died over the past five days. pic.twitter.com/PbbocZm0NR
— CGTN Global Watch (@GlobalWatchCGTN) June 13, 2023
#Sudan: @UNHumanRights office appalled by killing of West Darfur Gov., Khamis Abdullah Abbakar in RSF custody.
More int'l attention needed on extreme violence in #WestDarfur.
A large group of lawyers carried out a solidarity demonstration in front of the Ombadda Court in Omdurman yesterday, following reports of one of their colleagues being beaten by a policeman in a courtroom on Monday.
The assault on the lawyer took place during a trial session in the Ombadda Court, when the judge reportedly ordered a policeman to beat him. Lawyer Nahed Sultan told Radio Dabanga from the sit-in, that “this is a criminal offence that requires accountability”.
The participants in the vigil denounced the assault and chanted slogans such as “you beat a lawyer, you beat the nation” and “yes, yes to the law”.
In a memorandum submitted to the Senior Public Prosecutor, the lawyers stated that they will continue the sit-in “until the judge and the policeman are brought to a fair criminal trial”.
A large group of #Sudan lawyers carried out a solidarity demonstration in front of the Ombadda Court in #Omdurman yesterday, following reports of one of their colleagues being beaten by a policeman in a courtroom on Monday #SudanNewshttps://t.co/FxB2idizVB
The Sudanese Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt to the implementation of the decision to dissolve the Sudanese Bar Association (SBA) Steering Committee yesterday, after the SBA had submitted an appeal. The SBA called the original Supreme Court ruling “a political move”.
The decision, issued earlier by a Supreme Court judge, stipulates that the execution of the ruling may be suspended until a submitted appeal is decided upon so as not to create a vacuum in the work of the SBA which would harm the interests of lawyers.
The Steering Committee’s defense team had submitted an official appeal against the Supreme Court’s decision to dissolve the Steering Committee and to halt its activities at the end of December, lawyer and member of the defence team of the SBA Steering Committee Satee El Haj confirmed to Radio Dabanga.
“The battle to defend the Steering Committee takes place within several areas, including the legal, the media, and the political,” he said.
The Supreme Court earlier decided to suspend all activities of the SBA Steering Committee and prohibited its entire membership from taking part in any activity or work related to the association.
The Supreme Court said in a letter addressed to the chairman and members of the committee that the ruling comes “within the framework of precautionary measures to implement the decision of the competent department of the Supreme Court”.
Political move
“The Supreme Court ruling is mainly a political move with a legal cover in an attempt to return the employees of the former regime to power in the trade unions,” El Haj explained.
He ruled out the possibility that the SBA will be handed over to the affiliates of the defunct regime considering the appeals submitted.
El Haj called on “all supporters of democratic transition to rally around the SBA steering committee and prevent the remnants of the Al Bashir regime from returning to their posts”.
The current SBA appealed against the Supreme Court decree, issued on Oct 24, to reinstate the unions and federations that were dissolved by the now-disbanded Empowerment Removal Committee* in March 2019 and cancel all the procedures that resulted from ERC’s work, but the Appeals Committee rejected the appeal.
#SudanRevolution@SudanTAM Today, 02 January 2023, the Supreme Court issued a decision to suspend the implementation of the judgment related to the lawsuit of the "Sudanese Bar Association" dissolved by the "Empowerment Removal Committee" against the President and…… pic.twitter.com/pDtkhm9Py2
UN Human Rights Chief in Sudan Innocent Zahinda along with the Head of human rights country office Gillian Kitley met with a delegation of the Sudanese Bar Association/SBA to hear their views on the decision to dissolve the SBA Steering Committee and the events at the SBA House. pic.twitter.com/BJJJnixOWm
— UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission Sudan (@UNITAMS) November 4, 2022
Left Sudan after midnight, deeply grateful for the opportunity to witness the strong yearning for peace, justice & human rights. My fervent wish for the people of Sudan is for this to succeed in the next phase of the transition. pic.twitter.com/bv7S0fsrbo
ASLLP condemns the decision of the Empowerment Elimination appellate committee dissolving the steering committee of the Sudanese Bar Association and reinstating El Bashir’s regime loyalists pic.twitter.com/Q25vfsn12U
Police prevented lawyers from the Sudanese Bar Association (SBA) from entering the Lawyers House, denied them food and water, and deployed additional reinforcements. This came after the house witnessed an attack by members of the former regime’s Lawyers Syndicate as authorities decided to reinstate unions from the Al Bashir era.
On Thursday, the police prevented lawyers from the Sudanese Bar Association (SBA) from entering the Lawyers House in Khartoum and deployed additional military reinforcements in the vicinity of the house after members of the former regime’s lawyers syndicate violently confronted members of the SBA steering committee on Tuesday.
Lawyer Rehab El Mubarak told Radio Dabanga that the policemen in charge of securing the building of the Sudanese Bar Association prevented lawyers from entering the house yesterday morning. The police have surrounded the building.
These same forces prevented the entry of water and food for the lawyers present in the house on Wednesday in an attempt to force them to leave the house and close it. A number of the lawyers inside suffer from diabetes so food and water are essential.
Dozens of lawyers are protesting inside the house, refusing to leave and hand over the house to remnants of the former regime.
The Lawyers House witnessed an assault on Tuesday, at which point the lawyers released the following appeal: “The Sudanese Lawyers House lawyers are being attacked with batons and tear gas, stones were thrown at the house, and shots were fired by members of the dissolved National Congress Party regime and armed groups wearing civilian clothes”.
They called “on unions, other professional bodies, the resistance committees, and other revolutionary forces that reject the coup and believe in democratic and civil transformation to head towards the Sudanese Lawyers House in El Amarat Street 61, support those present in it, and provide protection to them in the absence of the police performing their duty”.
The police were allegedly involved in the attack and it took until Wednesday morning for the SBA steering committee to regain control of the building. The police forces however did not retreat and surrounded the building.
Lawyer Hala Abu Garoun told Radio Dabanga that a police force wearing civilian clothes carrying skewers, sticks, and stones stormed the Lawyers’ House after the members of the former regime’s union withdrew.
This was after the Lawyers Syndicate members had entered the building and told the SBA lawyers to leave. They attacked lawyers by beating them and throwing stones.
The attack on the Sudanese Bar offices includes use of live ammunition. Numbers of lawyers still inside in need for protection as the @EmergncyLawyers just called for urgent protection and intervention from police and prosecutor office. #Sudan#SudanCouphttps://t.co/whpeAPlUYw
“The attack against the office of the SBA is a clear signal sent against ongoing efforts to reach an acceptable consensus among political forces and the military towards a genuine democratic transition in Sudan” said @volkerperthes Press Release: https://t.co/wIVh04wudWpic.twitter.com/4weLDuDdSP
— UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission Sudan (@UNITAMS) November 2, 2022
A group of lawyers loyal to the dissolved National Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday launched an attack with sticks and tear gas on the Sudanese Bar Association headquarters, in an attempt to seize it.
The attack follows a decision by the Appeals Committee of the Transitional Sovereign Council to reinstate a committee elected by the Islamist lawyers in 2018 and to annul the election of a steering committee that drafted a transitional constitution to end the current political crisis in Sudan.
The steering committee held a press conference to brief the public opinion about the decision of the Appeals Committee. But some Islamist members of the dissolved union flanked by other groups, attacked the lawyers with sticks and tear gas and destroyed some of the union’s properties.
Osman al-Zain, a Sudanese lawyer, told Sudan Tribune that the attack started after the end of the press conference.
“The dissolved National Congress Party is responsible for the attack on the union headquarters and use of forces to impose their lawyers,” al-Zain said.
For their part, the Emergency Lawyers, an independent group of lawyers defending the anti-coup protesters, appealed to “pro-democracy lawyers to gather at the lawyers’ headquarters immediately” to defend it and expel the Islamists.
Also, the Resistance Committees in the neighbourhoods close to lawyers’ premises (Al-Sahafa and Al-Dium) called, through social media, on their members to support the attacked lawyers to repel the “remnants of the ousted regime”.
As the attack was broadcast on social media, the police intervened late on Tuesday and put an end to the violent attack.
The Appeals Committee of the Sovereign Council issued a decision to cancel the dissolution of the Sudanese Bar Association by canceling the decision of the Committee to dismantle the empowerment of the regime of Omar al-Bashir (the dissolved National Congress). The decision was issued on October 28, 2022.
In the period after the coup of October 25, 2021, there are many bodies belonging to the National Congress Party ( NCP ) that were completely returned through the decisions of the current Sovereign Council or through the judiciary, and many companies and organizations had previously been suspended were returned.
The recent decision to freeze the work of the steering committee of the Sudanese Bar Association challenges the credibility of the army and other security authorities that they intend to make any settlement to resolve the current crisis. The Steering Committee is the one which drafted the transitional constitution, which was agreed upon by major powers, and work is now underway to conclude an agreement on its basis.
The decision of the Appeal Committee of the Sovereign Council on 28 October is attached
A group of Islamist lawyers loyal to the dissolved National Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday launched an attack with sticks and tear gas on the Sudanese Bar Association headquarters, in an attempt to seize it.https://t.co/UNYhJiXHNcpic.twitter.com/dT0lRZD1uJ
ASLLP condemns the decision of the Empowerment Elimination appellate committee dissolving the steering committee of the Sudanese Bar Association and reinstating El Bashir’s regime loyalists pic.twitter.com/Q25vfsn12U
نحن رغم القهر لن نرضى بانصاف الحلول التصفوية لن تمر التسويات المسرحية لن تزحزحنا الحروب البربرية والمجازر اسمعوها لن نتاجر اسمعوها الف مرة @wagdi_salihpic.twitter.com/ey8tkMMq7k
#بدأناها_معاً_وسنكملها_معاً كل محاولات الانقلاب والانقلابيين والفلول لاغتيال الشخصية و التهديد لن تثنينا عن السير في طريق الثورة . حتما ستنتصر ارادة هذا الشعب ومن راهن على ارادة شعبه انتصر .
تصريح صحفي إعتقال محامي لقد قامت القوات الأمنية بأعتقال الزميل المحامي /حذيفة عمر من داخل قاعات المحكمة بمدينة كسلا ويعد ذلك إنتهاك واضح وصريح لقانون المحاماه الذي يضم في فحواه ونصوصه بعدم القبض علي اي محامي دون الرجوع الي النقابة لرفع حصانته اولا. pic.twitter.com/1XiNhFeZZx
تكررت ظاهرة التعدي علي المحاميين والقضاة من قبل الشرطة والقوات الأمنية بصورة واضحه وعليه نؤكد نحن في محامو الطؤاري بأنه لن نسكت ونلين لهذه الانتهاكات ضد المحاميين وسنقوم بمتابعة جميع الإجراءات لإطلاق سراح الزميل المحامي/ حذيفة عمر
قامت القوات الأمنية بأعتقال الزميل المحامي /حذيفة عمر من داخل قاعات المحكمة بمدينة كسلا ويعد ذلك إنتهاك واضح وصريح لقانون المحاماة الذي يضم في فحواه ونصوصه بعدم القبض على اي محامي دون الرجوع الى النقابة لرفع حصانته اولا ومن ثم القبض عليه.
تكررت ظاهرة التعدي على المحامين والقضاة من قبل الشرطة والقوات الأمنية بصورة واضحة ، عليه نؤكد نحن في( محامو الطوارئ) بأنه لن نسمح ونصمت عن هذه الانتهاكات ضد المحاميين وسنقوم بمتابعة جميع الإجراءات لإطلاق سراح المحامي/ حذيفة عمر ونناشد جميع المنظمات الدولية لحقوق الإنسان بتسليط الضوء عليها وتسجيل جميع الانتهاكات التي تمت في حق الشعب السوداني .
IAPL Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers 