Secret detention of Messrs. Waleed Imam and Algasim Mohamed Sidahmed

Incommunicado and secret detention

Saudi Arabia / Sudan

January 17, 2017

The Observatory forthe Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in thefollowing situation in Saudi Arabia.

Description of thesituation:

The Observatory has beeninformed by reliable sources about the arrest and detention of Messrs. WaleedImam and Algasim Mohamed Sidahmed, two Sudanese social mediaactivists residing in Saudi Arabia, where they continue advocating for therespect of human rights in Sudan.

According to the information received, onDecember 20, 2016, two units of Saudi security forces arrested Messrs. WaleedImam and Algasim Mohamed Sidahmed, as they were heading to their cars outsidetheir workplace in Riyadh. Following their arrest, they were taken to theirhomes where four security personnel searched their houses before taking them toan unknown place. No arrest or search warrants were presented during the searchand Mr. Waleed Imam was prevented from communicating with his wife who wasstanding in the next room.

Mr. Algasim Mohamed Sidahmed, whose mobile phonewas confiscated during the search, called his wife at around 2 am for only 40seconds from a prison in Riyadh. They have been held incommunicado since theirarrest. No reason for their arrest has been given and their whereabouts remainunknown as of publication of this appeal.

According to information received, severalofficials of the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS)would have since arrived in Saudi Arabia in order to interrogate thetwo above-mentioned human rights defenders.

The Observatory strongly condemns the arrest andincommunicado and secret detention of Messrs. Waleed Imam and Algasim MohamedSidahmed. These cases illustrate the repressive trend targeting Sudanese humanrights defenders residing abroad as the Sudanese Government exercises pressureto harass its nationals carrying out human rights activities abroad.

The Observatory further fear that the two wouldbe at risk of torture and ill-treatment if they were sent back to Sudan, whichwould be contrary to Saudi Arabia’s obligations under Article 3 of the UnitedNations Convention against Torture.

The Observatory urges authorities in SaudiArabia to immediately disclose the whereabouts of Messrs. Waleed Imam andAlgasim Mohamed Sidahmed and release them immediately and unconditionally as theirdetention is arbitrary since it only seems to aim at sanctioning theirhuman rights activities.

Background information:

Founding members of Abna’Al-Sahafa (Citizen of Al-Sahafa) in Khartoum, Messrs. Waleed Imam and Algasim Mohamed Sidahmed were providing assistanceand basic services to Sudanese people in need.

Since they left Sudan toSaudi Arabia for work reasons in 1998 and 2013 respectively, they have remainedactive in the organisation from Riyadh, providing logistic and financialsupport for those in need of medicine and medical treatment in Sudan. Moreover,Mr. Algasim MohamedSidahmed is managing a Facebook pagethat has over 80,000 members calling for peaceful political transformation inSudan. He was active during the recent civil disobedience movement in Sudan.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Saudi Arabia and ask them to:

i.Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Waleed Imam and Algasim Mohamed Sidahmed and all human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia;

ii.Immediately disclose the whereabouts of Messrs. Waleed Imamand Algasim Mohamed Sidahmed and release them immediatelyand unconditionally astheir detention is arbitrary since it only seems to aim at sanctioningtheir human rights activities;

iii. Guarantee the access of Messrs. Messrs. Waleed Imam andAlgasim Mohamed Sidahmed to their lawyers;

iv.Put an end to all acts of harassment - including at the judicial level -against Messrs. Waleed Imamand Algasim Mohamed Sidahmed and all human rights defenders inSaudi Arabia;

v.Conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the United NationsDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the UNGeneral Assembly, in particular its Articles 1, 6, 8, 9 and 12.2;

vi.Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedomsin accordance with international human rights instruments ratified by SaudiArabia, andmost notably to comply with Article 3 of the Convention against Torture (CAT),to which Saudi Arabia is a party, which states that “no State Party shallexpel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person to another State where thereare substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of beingsubjected to torture”.

Addresses:

· His Majesty, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia andCustodian of the two Holy Mosques, Fax: (via Ministry of the Interior) +966 11403 3125; Email: info@moi.gov.sa

· H.E. Waleed bin Mohammad Al Samaani,Minister of Justice, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax: + 966 11 401 1741 / + 966 11402 0311 / +966114055399

· His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud,Minister of Interior, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax: +966 11 403 3125; Email: info@moi.gov.sa

· H.E. Adel bin Ahmed El Jubeir,Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fax: +966114030645; Email: info@mofa.gov.sa

· H.E. Abdulaziz Alwasil,Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the UnitedNations Office in Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 758 00 00. Email: saudiamission@bluewin.ch

· H.E. Abdulrahman bin Soliman Al-Ahmed, Ambassador, Embassy of SaudiArabia in Brussels, Belgium. Fax: +32 2 6468538. Email: beemb@mofa.gov.sa

Please also write todiplomatic representations of Saudi Arabia in your respective countries.

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Paris-Geneva, January 17, 2017

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of thisappeal in your reply.

The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to theprotection of human rights defenders and aims to offer them concrete support intheir time of need. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu,the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.