Paris-Geneva, 13 December 2016: 38 organisations co-signed a letteryesterday addressed to several United Nations (UN) Special Procedures regarding10 staff members and affiliates of the Centre for Training and HumanDevelopment (TRACKs) in Sudan, who are accused, among other charges, of crimesagainst the State, which carry the death penalty, in two overlapping cases.

Among the human rights defenders accused, TRACKsDirector Khalafalla al Afif Mukhtar,trainer Midhat Afif al-Deen Hamdan,and the director of Alzarqa Organisation for Rural Development, Mustafa Adam, have been arbitrarilydetained for over six months. The letter calls upon the UN to urge theGovernment of Sudan to immediately and unconditionally release the three humanrights defenders and drop all charges against them.

«The charges against TRACKs staff and affiliatesare spurious and based solely on the peaceful exercise of their work in favourof human rights, democratic principles, and peace and security in Sudan»said our organisations. «The evidence presented is unconvincing as to howthe human rights work of TRACKs staff and affiliates constitute crimes againstthe state».

In one of the cases, thedefendants have been accused of being responsible for the InternationalCriminal Court’s indictment against Sudanese President Omar al Bashir and theapplication of US sanctions against Sudan, despite both events took place yearsbefore the establishment of TRACKs in 2013. It has also been declared thatTRACKs has been conducting work on behalf of, and has a fiscal relationshipwith, Al-Khatim Adlan Centre for Enlightenment & Human Development (KACE),a pro-democracy organisation that also works to promote multiculturalism inSudan, which was closed down by the Sudanese authorities in 2012 andsubsequently registered in Kampala, Uganda.

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) wascreated in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). Theobjective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations ofrepression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu,the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.

For moreinformation, please contact:

• FIDH: Audrey Couprie / ArthurManet: + 33 143552518

• OMCT: Chiara Cosentino: +41 228094937