Darfur Bar condemns closure of civil society centre in Sudan’s capital

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) has condemned the closure of the Centre for Civil Society Development by the security apparatus in Khartoum on Wednesday. In a press release issued on Monday, the Darfur lawyers denounced the raid on the NGO on Wednesday, “followed by the occupation of the Centre by agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) for four continuing days”. “The entering and searching of the Centre’s premises without permission or knowledge of its management not only constitutes a violation of the basic principles laid out in the Criminal Procedures Code, but also desecrates the constitutional right relating to the inviolability of property.” The DBA expressed its solidarity with the members of the Centre for Civil Society Development, and appealed to “civil society organisations, activists and human rights defenders, to support the Centre “with any appropriate means”. The lawyers urged the Sudanese government to respect the 2005 Interim Constitution and its international obligations, and to “stop its methods of domination and exclusion”. The Centre for Civil Society Development was active in the field of training and capacity building of civil society forces, as well as awareness raising on the coming elections and voters education. Its activities were announced publicly in announcements in the press and newsletters. File photo: A Darfuri activist at international Human Rights Day, 10 December 2013 Related: Sudan security closes civil society centre in Khartoum (12 September 2014)