Darfur Bar demands release of Nierteti detainees

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) demanded on Sunday that the National Secretariat for Human Rights in Khartoum to take the necessary measures to release ten displaced detainees in Nierteti in Central Darfur.

Agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) detained 15 of a group of 20 displaced elders, women, and youths, after they met with Donald Booth, the US Special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, during his visit to Nierteti on 27 July. Five of the detained were released again.

The displaced met with Booth on his request. He asked them about their opinion on the ongoing peace process, the Darfur referendum last April, the activities of humanitarian organisations, and the performance of Unamid.

In their letter to the National Secretariat for Human Rights, the Darfur Bar lawyers state that the detained displaced did not commit any offence. “They did not violate any law. They only spoke with the US envoy, on his request, during an official visit endorsed by the Sudanese authorities,” DBA deputy chairman Saleh Mahmoud told Radio Dabanga.

He also pointed to the responsibility foreign envoys have towards the people they speak with in the countries they visit.

“We fear that the detained may be subjected to mistreatment and torture,” Mahmoud added. “Among the detained are a number of elderly people who suffer from chronic diseases, and need regular medical care. By detaining them, the security apparatus is depriving them of their constitutional right to human dignity.”