‘Two Sudanese activists at risk of torture’: Amnesty Int.

The secretary-general of the Sudanese Consumer Protection Society (SCPS) and an activist member, who were detained by agents of the National Intelligence Security Service (NISS) on 25 May, are still being held incommunicado.

“Their whereabouts are unknown, and their families have not been allowed to visit them,” Amnesty International-USA reported on Friday, calling for 'urgent action', as there are “credible fears that both may be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.”

Yasir Mirghani Abdelrahman, SCPS secretary-general, and member Nasreen Ali Mustafa attended a symposium on sexual harassment organised by SCPS on 23 May. Mustafa, addressed the gathering, and raised concerns about the alarmingly high number of unreported incidents of sexual harassment and abuse in some schools buses in Khartoum State. She urged families to speak out and raise the issue with the authorities. The symposium received considerable media coverage.

A few days after the symposium, Abdelrahman gave an interview to a Sudanese newspaper in which he highlighted the rampant corruption in essential consumer goods, alleging that high level government officials were involved.

On 25 May, both activists were detained, and the NISS confiscated the print-runs of 10 newspapers in Khartoum. It has been speculated that this could have been a retribution for reporting on the SCPS event. 

The security apparatus did give any reason for their detention, the Sudanese Congress Party (SCP) said in a statement on 27 May. According to the SCP, they were most probably held because of their activities against the “rampant corruption” in the country.