Mother of five expelled from shelter on trial in Sudan’s River Nile state

The Shendi Criminal Court in River Nile state, has begun proceedings against a displaced woman under Articles 159 (defamation) and 160 (insult and abuse) of the penal code. Each carries a penalty of up to six months in prison, a fine, or both. This follows a complaint filed against her by supervisors at the Kamel Ibrahim Shelter in Shendi. The defendant, Mosheera El Awad, was detained by local police following seeking assistance from local authorities on the matter. This comes after an inspection visit in the area by the president of the Sovereignty Council and army commander, Abdelfattah El Burhan, in April.

Mosheera El Awad, a mother of five, fled with her children to Shendi in mid-Ramadan to the Kamel Ibrahim Shelter, where a few of her relatives are staying. However, she faced harassment from some of the shelter supervisors. According to close source to El Awad’s family, the charges against El Awad stemmed from the visit of Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, president of the Sovereignty Council, to the shelter on 24 April as part of his inspection tour. During his visit, El Awad reported the harassment she received from the shelter staff to El Burhan.

She asked if she had the right, as a displaced woman, to stay in any shelter, and he confirmed that she did. The mother also asked if anyone had the right to ask her to unveil her face, to which he replied that no one had such a right. She informed the general that the supervisors were demanding she unveil her face, El Burhan replied that this was not permissible.

The source, an eyewitness to the incident, said El Burhan immediately ordered the formation of an investigative committee headed by a police colonel to address these complaints. However, the committee has yet to start its work, leaving the decision unimplemented and the supervisors not investigated.

After El Burhan left, shelter supervisor Abdelghani Khalafallah, along with security officer Yasir Ahmed, expelled El Awad and her five children in front of a large crowd. Abdelghani accused her of being part of a ‘fifth column’, a term she did not understand, and Yasser allegedly told her, “let El Burhan house you”.

After El Awad’s expulsion, Ahmed and Khalafallah filed two complaints against her under Articles 159 and 160. The source alleges that El Awad did not insult or defame either of them, nor did she mention their names to El Burhan. The source criticised media reports accusing her of alleging corruption and extortion within the shelter, stating she never made such claims. He added that the media distorted her statements, suggesting she accused the supervisors of demanding sexual favours for food, which she apparently never said.

Following her expulsion, El Awad went to the local administration to seek help but was directed to the General Intelligence Service, framing her case as a state security issue. When she went to the police to file a complaint, she was denied her legal right and instead detained based on the complaints filed by Yasser and Abdelghani. Instead, the officers contacted Ahmed, who arrived briefly, left, and returned later in the evening with two signed and stamped complaints. He informed the officer in charge to detain her based on the charges of defamation and abuse and advised her to find someone to bail her out.

El Awad was detained for nearly nine hours before being released the next day after procedural delays. Her trial has now begun at the Shendi Criminal Court. Since then, she has been living in dire conditions without shelter, unable to afford rent or work. She has appealed to the people of Shendi for help but has received no assistance so far.