Sudan Call head asks Constitutional Court to lift travel ban

Lawyers for the President of the Sudanese Congress Party and head of the Sudan Call opposition coalition members in Sudan, Omar El Degeir, have filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court to lift El Digeir’s travel ban and return his confiscated passport.

In mid-August, El Degeir was stopped at Khartoum airport by members of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and prevented from travelling to meetings of the Sudan Call being held in Paris. His passport was also confiscated.

Lawyer Kamal El Amin who represents El Degeir appealed to the Constitutional Court against the NISS for violating his client’s constitutional right to travel and leave the country and asked the court to order the NISS to immediately hand over his client’s passport.

“My client is currently under medical treatment by a doctor abroad, but has not been able to travel due to the ban," he told Radio Dabanga.

He said that banning El Degeir from traveling is not within the authority of the NISS. Such a ban requires a court order. He added that the confiscation of his passport is also not stipulated in Article 50 of the Security Act, on which the security apparatus based its decision.

Constitution

Article 27 of the Constitution says that the various laws should not detract from the Bill of Rights. El Degeir does not face any judicial charges by any party and no any administrative or civil action can ban him from travel, the lawyer said.

He expects the court to overturn the decision of the security apparatus, in which case they would demand compensation for material and other damages.

Travel bans

The Sudanese authorities have issued a number of travel bans against opposition members and activists in the past months. In August, civil society activist Jalila Khamis was barred from travelling from Khartoum Airport to Cairo.

Later that month security services banned El Degeir from travelling to Paris. Also lawyer Abdallah El Doma, the chairman of the Darfur Bar Association and co-president of the NUP was stopped at the airport and his passport confiscated.

The Secretary-General of the opposition NUP, Sarah Nugdallah was barred from leaving Sudan in August, and her passport was confiscated. She had been prevented from travelling in May too.