Sudan Communist Party condemns ‘arbitrary detention’ of member by Military Intelligence

Military Intelligence continues to detain Amal El Zein, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Sudan, for the third consecutive day without providing any reasons. El Zein is the latest to be hit in a series of arbitrary detentions by Military Intelligence targeting critical voices across Sudan.

Kamal Karar, a leader within the Communist Party of Sudan (CPoS), informed Radio Dabanga yesterday that intelligence agents detained El Zein at her workplace in Shendi, River Nile state, on Sunday morning. She suffers from diabetes and hypertension, requiring regular medication, and is under the supervision of a specialist doctor. “Despite these conditions, she was taken to an unknown location, and her family and fellow lawyers have been denied the right to visit her.”

Karar asserted that the detention is “part of the ongoing repression by the de facto authorities against active political forces”, holding the authorities responsible for any deterioration in her health.

El Fasher detention

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) has condemned “serious violations” committed against former parliamentarian and human rights defender Siham Hasaballah, who was reportedly detained in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, by members of the Sudan Liberation Movement faction led by Minni Minawi (SLM-MM). It is worth noting that Minawi’s forces formally aligned with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in November.

In a statement yesterday, the DBA referred to a letter from Abdelaziz Osman, an independent human rights observer, addressed to Minawi, who is also the governor of the Darfur region. The letter lamented the detention of Hasaballah from her home in El Fasher and her “subsequent solitary confinement in ‘Super Camp’ for nine days.

“During this period, she was reportedly tortured physically and mentally, beaten with whips, and harassed, all without any justification.”

Hasaballah who held a parliamentary seat for two terms, had been a staunch defender of rights and freedoms in Darfur and Sudan. The DBA considers her detention a clear violation of rights guaranteed under national and international laws and human rights treaties ratified by Sudan.

The association demanded the cessation of these violations and called for the immediate correction of injustices against Hasaballah. It also criticised SLM-MM for “abandoning their responsibilities and committing violations against civilians”, urging them to uphold their proclaimed mission of protecting rights and freedoms.

Arbitrary detention

Since the onset of the ongoing war between the SAF and its adversary, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in April of last year, reports have piled up of arbitrary detentions conducted by Military Intelligence across Sudan. Sudanese journalists have been faced with detentions, threats, enforced disappearances, or assaults.

Radio Dabanga reported on June 12 that National Umma Party (NUP) member Mahmoud Zayed and El Gezira resistance committee member Ahmed Abusham were detained in White Nile state and El Gedaref respectively by Military intelligence.

That same week, in White Nile state, several activists, as well as members of political parties and civil society organisations (CSOs), were detained by security forces amidst widespread search campaigns in Kosti and Rabak, the state capital, that were seemingly aimed at pursuing collaborators with the RSF.

Recent reports indicate a widespread campaign of detentions without judicial orders in cities and towns across states like Sennar, White Nile state, Kassala, and El Gedaref. Conditions in the Port Sudan Prison are also reported to be dire, with overcrowding, disease outbreaks, and severe shortages of food and water.