M.I. arrests family members in South Kordofan

A man and his wife have been in custody by the Military Intelligence in Um Barambita in South Kordofan since 4 July, while they are denied contact with lawyers. The man is accused of spying.

On 4 July, Shamsoun Tubra (25), his wife Hawa Noureldin (23) and his sister Khamisa (21) were arrested by MI after they moved from territory of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) to governmental territory in South Kordofan. All have been detained and denied access to lawyers.

According to the Sudanese HUDO, a Kampala-based human rights monitor, the family members are detained in bad conditions.

HUDO reported that four Sudanese soldiers, headed by a person named Noureldayem, came to the Tubra’s house and beat him. His family members and neighbours watched the assault. The soldiers then arrested three members of the Tubra family and took them to the military camp’s premises.

The detained have been accused of spying because they moved from a rebel-held area to an area that is under the control of the Sudanese army. Sister Khamisa was released 20 days later, on 24 July, while the other two remain in custody.

“HUDO got reliable information that the two are detained in a hole designed to be a cell for detention. They are detained in bad conditions, undergoing inhuman treatment with no access to family visits or lawyers contact,” a press release by HUDO stated today.

The organisation is concerned about the couple’s detention and called upon the MI and the Sudanese government to respect the rights of detainees in the country. “The MI detaining authority should allow them the access to family and lawyers […] The government, for their immediately release or to send them to the court if they are facing any recognised crime.”