Open Letter concerning the arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detentions of Dr Amin Mekki Medani, Mr Farouq Abu Eissa, and Dr Farah Ibrahim Mohamed Alagar by the Government of Sudan
AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTSSPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN
RIGHTS DEFENDERS, MS REINE ALAPINI-GANSOU
C/o African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
31 Bijilo Annex Layout
Kombo North District
Western Region
P.O. Box 673 Banjul
The Gambia
Sent via e-mail: au-banjul@africa-union.org & africancommission@yahoo.com
AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTSSPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM
OF EXPRESSION AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION, MS FAITHPANSY TLAKULA
Election House, 260, Walker Street, Sunnyside
Pretoria, PO Box 7943, Pretoria 0001
South Africa
Sent via e-mail: au-banjul@africa-union.org & africancommission@yahoo.com
AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTSCOMMISSIONER ON THE HUMAN
RIGHTS SITUATION IN SUDAN, MR LAWRENCE MUTE
No. 10, Laiboni Close, Nkoroi North Road, Nkoroi
PO Box 557 – 00517
Nairobi, Kenya
Sent via e-mail: au-banjul@africa-union.org &africancommission@yahoo.com
UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATIONOF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, MR
MICHEL FORST
UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE FREEDOM OFEXPRESSION, MR DAVID KAYE
UNITED NATIONS INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON THE SITUATIONOF HUMAN RIGHTS IN SUDAN, MR
ARISTIDE NONONSI
CHAIR-RAPPORTEUR OF THE UNITED NATIONS WORKINGGROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION, MR
MADS ANDENAS
UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE, MRJUAN ERNESTO MENDEZ
c/o Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais Wilson, United Nations Office at Geneva
CH1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Sent via e-mail: defenders@ohchr.org, freedex@ohchr.org,iesudan@ohchr.org, urgent-action@ohchr.org & wgad@ohchr.org
19 December 2014
Open Letter concerning the arbitrary arrest andincommunicado detentions of Dr Amin Mekki
Medani, Mr Farouq Abu Eissa, and Dr Farah IbrahimMohamed Alagar by the Government of
Sudan
Dear Ms Alapini-Gansou, Ms Tlakula, Mr Mute, Mr Forst,Mr Kaye, Mr Nononsi ,Mr Andenas and Mr
Mendez,
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies,Bahrain Center for Human Rights, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, theDarfur Bar Association, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights DefendersProject, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights, theInternational Refugee Rights Initiative, Journalists for Human Rights, theMoroccan Human Rights Organisation, REDRESS, the Sudanese Human Rights Monitorand the World Organisation against Torture are writing to urge you to act uponour request to call upon the Government of Sudan to release the human rights lawyerDr Amin Mekki Medani and activists Mr Farouq Abu Eissa and DrFarah Ibrahim Mohamed Alagar without charge from Sudanese NationalIntelligence and Security Services’ (NISS) custody. As outlined further below,their detentions are thought to be connected solely to the peaceful expressionof their beliefs in favour of democratic principles and peace and security inSudan, in violation of the lawful exercise of their rights guaranteed underSudan’s Interim National Constitution (INC), the African Charter on Human andPeoples’ Rights (ACHPR), and the International Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights (ICCPR).
We are sending this letter to you in your capacitiesas Special Procedure mandate holders as it
engages your respective mandates. We are aware of theUN High Commissioner for Human Rights’
public statement of 12 December 2014 urging theGovernment of Sudan to “release the three men
in the absence of valid legal charges or promptlycharge them with a recognizable offence and bring
them before a judge with guarantees of their fairtrial rights.” Notwithstanding the OHCHR’s call, all
three men remain in incommunicado detention. Theycontinue being denied visits from their
families and lawyers and their continued detentionraises serious concerns for their health and
safety.
Both Dr Medani and Mr Abu Eissa are in their seventiesand have specific medical needs as both are
diabetic. Dr Medani has high blood pressure and NISSprevented him from taking his medication
with him upon arrest. Mr Eissa suffers from cyanosis.The families of both men have sought to
provide them with food, also given their healthcondition and dietary requirements, but the NISS
officials refused to receive it.
Our organisations are unaware of any criminal chargesfiled against Dr. Medani, Mr. Eissa, or Dr.
Alagar as of 18 December 2014.
The arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention ofDr. Medani, Mr. Eissa, and Dr. Alagar by the
Government of Sudan is in violation of their right toliberty, freedom of expression, and the rights
and freedoms guaranteed to human rights defenders. Thecircumstances of their detention also
raise concerns over the right to be free fromill-treatment or torture. In light of the urgency of the
situation, we respectfully request you to urgentlyundertake the following actions:
1. Publicly call upon theGovernment of Sudan to immediately release Dr Amin Mekki Medani, Mr Eissa, andDr Alagar in the absence of valid charges against them, to disclose their whereaboutsand grant access to their family members and a lawyer of choosing, to guaranteetheir safety, and to grant them any medical assistance they may require.
2. Publicly call upon the Government of Sudan to unconditionallyguarantee Dr Medani, Mr Eissa, and Dr Alagar’s rights under the ACHPR and ICCPR.
3. Publicly declare that the detentionsconstitute a violation of the right to freedom of expression, as protected byArticle 9 of the ACHPR, Article 19 of the ICCPR and Article 19 of the UDHR, andthe protection enjoyed by detainees as set out in the UN Declaration on HumanRights Defenders.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have anyquestions or if we can provide you with any
additional information you may need.
Yours sincerely,
African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Darfur Bar Association
East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project
Human Rights Watch
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
International Refugee Rights Initiative
Journalists for Human Rights
Moroccan Human Rights Organisation
REDRESS
Sudanese Human Rights Monitor
World Organisation against Torture (OMCT)
Background
Just before midnight on 6 December 2014, theGovernment of Sudan’s NISS arrested two prominent
public figures on their return from politicalnegotiations held in Addis Ababa between Sudanese
political and armed opposition groups. A large numberof personnel from the NISS, arriving in six
vehicles, arrested Dr Amin Mekki Medani, (m),75 years of age, and Mr Farouq Abu Eissa, (m), 78
years of age, from their homes in Khartoum. Althoughtheir families were not informed of the
reasons for the arrests, the men were detained aftersigning the “Sudan Call” on 3 December in
Addis Ababa.
The “Sudan Call” is a declaration that commitssignatories to work towards the end of the conflicts
raging in different regions of Sudan. The documentalso pledges to work towards legal, institutional
and economic reforms. Dr Amin Mekki Medani signed thedocument on behalf of a group of civil
society actors. Mr Farouq Abu Eissa signed on behalfof the Sudanese National Consensus Forces –
an umbrella of political opposition parties – in hiscapacity as Chairperson of that group.
In the early hours of Sunday, 7 December, Dr FarahIbrahim Mohamed Alagar, (m), 60 years of age,
was arrested by the NISS from his home in Alfitihabneighbourhood of Omdurman. Dr Alagar had
also attended the Sudan Call negotiations in AddisAbaba but had not signed the resulting document.
Around 10 members of the NISS reportedly arrived athis home at 1am and took him to their offices
in Khartoum Bahri without providing reasons for hisarrest.
These arrests come following a pattern of detentions –and prosecutions - that appear aimed at
silencing any form of criticism of the policies of theruling party. The past six months have seen
scores of political and youth activists, as well asprominent human rights defenders, detained. These
cases raise serious concerns about increasingrestrictions on freedom of expression, association and
assembly in Sudan.
Dr Medani is a prolific member of the Sudanese humanrights movement. He was the Chairperson of
the organisation Sudanese Human Rights Monitor, FIDHmember organisation in the country, and is
currently an Executive Board member of over sixnon-governmental human rights organizations and
legal associations. Dr Medani has also worked forvarious international organisations including as the
head of the OHCHR in the West Bank, Gaza and Croatiaand as a legal adviser to the Special
Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General in Iraqand Afghanistan.
Mr Farouq Abu Eissa is the Chairperson of the NationalConsensus Forces, an umbrella of political
opposition groups in Sudan, and has a long history ofpolitical activism. He has been one of the most
preeminent voices in calls by Sudan’s oppositionparties for democratic transformation in Sudan.
He is the former Secretary General of the ArabLawyers’ Union and the National Democratic Alliance.
Dr Alagar is a retired officer from the Sudan ArmedForces and was formally the chairperson of the
National Congress Party (NCP) in Blue Nile state. Hewas dismissed from the ruling party in
December 2012, reportedly because he expressed viewsdiverging from the official NCP line,
including on the possibility of power sharing in BlueNile state between the NCP and Sudan Peoples’
Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). He was laterengaged in April 2014 as an independent
conflict resolution expert by the SPLM-N to attendongoing peace talks in Addis between the SPLM-N
and the Government of Sudan.