Member of Tagadom defence team held in Port Sudan

The Sudanese Rights and Freedoms Defence Committee announced that the authorities in Port Sudan, the capital of Red Sea state, last month detained the representative of its team defending the leaders of the Civil Democratic Forces (Tagadom).

The Defence Committee said in a statement on Friday that security forces held lawyer Montasir Abdallah on September 7 in Port Sudan, the administrative capital of the country after war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023.

Abdallah represents the team that defends the 17 members of the Tagadom Coordination Committee, including its chair, former PM Abdalla Hamdok, against accusations by the National Committee for RSF War Crimes and Violations, formed by the de facto government in Port Sudan.  

The committee considers the detention “a violation of human rights, a violation of Article 48 of the Lawyers Act, an assault on the duty and right of the lawyer to practice his profession, and the right of the accused to seek the assistance of a defence lawyer”.

Tagadom leaders charged

This national committee lodged an official complaint about the members of the Tagadom Coordination Committee on March 31, after which the Port Sudan Prosecution Office charged them with provoking war against the state, incitement, conspiracy, undermining the constitutional order, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Immediately after the complaint was filed, a defence team was formed, and its representative, Montasir Abdallah, submitted a legal request to the Public Prosecution Office in Port Sudan to review the investigation file.

“Instead of responding to the request and allowing the committee to exercise its legal right to review it, the lawyer who submitted the request was detained without legal reasons and has not been released until today, Friday,” the Rights and Freedoms Defence Committee considers stated.

Members of the defence team were allowed so see Montaser, under guard, on Thursday morning, in the offices of the Judicial Authority in Port Sudan but were not able to get an idea about the the reasons and circumstances of his detention.

The Tagadom alliance of progressive parties and groups, headed by the mainstream Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC-Central Council), was formed in October last year with the aim to build a broad democratic civil front against the war devastating the country.

In December, Tagadom invited the commanders of the SAF and RSF to discuss the protection of civilians, the provision of humanitarian aid, and a ceasefire. The army ignored the request, but RSF Commander Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo responded and signed an agreement with the alliance in Addis Ababa on January 2. Because of this accord, Tagadom is seen by the Sudanese authorities including the SAF, and its supporters, as pro-RSF.