Three ‘detained by NISS’ in Darfur

A teacher and a trader were detained by two “agents of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS)” on Tuesday from the market of Girayda in South Darfur. A witness told Radio Dabanga that Mohamed Musa Daoud, a prominent teacher at the Girayda Secondary School for Girls, and mobile phone trader Daoud Hashim, were first kicked and beaten in full view of passers-by before being taken to an unknown destination. No reasons were given for the detentions. The families of the detainees have expressed fear that the men will be subjected to torture or ill-treatment. They called for them to be released or brought to trial, and appealed to the international community and human rights organisations to intervene. El Fasher Also on Tuesday, NISS agents reportedly arrested Yasser Kofot from the market in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur. A relative told Radio Dabanga that the agents detained Kofot, a veterinary graduate of the University of Nyala, in front of a market stall on Tuesday evening and have taken him to an unknown destination. The relative said that the agents accused Kofot of being “anti-Islam”. He suspects that the detention is linked to Kofot’s participation in a cultural forum entitled “Identity” in El Fasher last Thursday. Speaking at the forum, Kofot apparently called for “a national Sudanese identity rather than an Islamic identity for Sudanese”. The relative expressed fear that Kofot will be subjected to torture or ill-treatment and demanded that he either be released or brought to justice. File photo Related: South Darfur student ‘assaulted, tortured by NISS’: witness (2 September 2013) ‘NISS detains Unamid technician in Darfur’: relative (2 September 2013)