African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies

(24 January 2009) On Tuesday the 19th, supporters of Hamad Mohammad Ali, an independent gubernatorial candidate from the Amarar ethnic group in Red Sea State for the April 2010 elections, organised a peaceful demonstration and rally in support of his candidacy. Mr. Ali was formerly a member of the National Congress Party (NCP), but when he did not receive his party’s nomination began a campaign on an independent platform.

The peaceful protests were soon curbed by police on the pretext that they had not registered for a permit to demonstrate. Protestors were dispersed using tear gas, electrical batons, and water hoses. 27 people were arrested, and subsequently taken to Al-Awsat police station in Port Sudan. 12 of the protestors were released at 12 PM, and the remaining detainees -- most of whom are members of the Bani Amir tribe -- face criminal charges under the 1991 Criminal Code. The case has been docketed as Case No. 311/2010.

(5 January 2010) Chadian rebel groups which had moved into North Darfur in early November have been committing a series of attacks against the civilian population reminiscent of the tactics employed by the janjaweed militias and government forces early in the Darfur conflict. Villages have been raided, property looted, and women raped.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies believes that these acts may constitute war crimes and call on the government of Sudan and relevant UN representatives to the initiate a full and thorough investigation. The perpetrators should be held accountable. At the same time, the international community should do more to ensure that civilians are protected, including ensuring full logistical and political support for the joint United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force (UNAMID) and pushing it to take robust action.

Sudan Human Rights Monitor, Issue 4

(18 December) The two months of this reporting period saw considerable movement at the political level. The release of the Mbeki Panel report can be seen as the culmination of months of AU engagement – and the findings represent a new opportunity to build international consensus with regard to the way forward. Unfortunately political progress was not matched in human rights terms and arbitrary arrests and violations of freedom of expression, in particular, continued.

(15 December 2009) On Monday 14 December 2009, Sudanese security forces dispersed a peaceful protest organised by the Juba Declaration Forces, and aimed at presenting a petition to parliament detailing needed legislative changes and demanding the establishment of an enabling environment for free and fair national elections. The crowd was disbursed using tear gas and rubber bullets which led to at least seven people being seriously injured. People were pursued into private homes, pulled out and forced to sit down and be beaten.

(9 December 2009) On Tuesday 8 December, at the Al Kalakla court complex in Khartoum, three lawyers were arrested. Initially the three were arrested for posting fliers on behalf of the Sudan Lawyers’ Democratic Front calling on lawyers to obtain certification and pay membership fees in order to vote in elections to be held in January 2010 by the Sudan Bar Association. A judge named Bashir Rahama ordered the arrest. The women were arrested by the police and interrogated, but released the same day without being charged. Immediately upon their release, an NISS car stopped them outside the police station and re-arrested them, taking them to the NISS office in the Abuadam area in Al Kalakla district. The women remain in custody.

(7 December 2009) On 6 December at 7 PM, two students, Muhnad Umar and Hazim Khalifa, from the Music and Drama Institute were approached by security forces at Al Salaam Park near Il Fitihab Bridge in Omdurman. The two students had been distributing fliers for Grifna, a campaign for free elections. The security forces chased the two students, firing shots into the air in order to force them to stop. When the students stopped they were arrested. Their instruments, a flute and a bass guitar, were smashed.

ACJPS Condemns Suppression of Peaceful Demonstrations in Khartoum and Nationwide

(7 December 2009) The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies condemns the violent crackdown undertaken this morning by Sudanese riot police and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) against tens of thousands engaged in peaceful protests in Omdurman, Greater Khartoum North, and other cities across Sudan. The demonstrations were coordinated by the Juba Declaration Forces, a coalition of Sudanese political opposition.

An Opening for Expression or Shifting Tactics? Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Expression in Sudan

(19 October 2009) On 27 September 2009, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir announced that the government would cease the onerous pre-publication censorship regulations which
had been placed on journalists in Sudan. The president's statement, however, was
immediately followed by indications that the move was not intended to create an
open environment for journalists. The statement was made in the context of a
ceremony adopting a journalistic code of honour, which in itself ask journalists to
limit the topics they discuss. In addition, the announcement was immediately
followed by a warning to journalists that they should "avoid what leads to exceeding
the red lines and avoid mixing what is patriotic and what is destructive to the nation,
sovereignty, security, values and its morality."

(17 September 2009) The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies today expressed concern about the increasing crackdown on freedom of expression in Sudan, targeting public discussion of, and preparation for, the elections scheduled for April 2010. Since the beginning of August, Sudanese authorities have systematically targeted any activities, symposia, public rallies or lectures related to the elections. Also, censorship of the media by the security services has, in recent weeks, increasingly targeted discussions of the elections.

(7 September 2009) The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies today condemned the arrest of 48 women protesting in Khartoum in support of Lubna Hussein, the journalist arrest several weeks ago in Khartoum under controversial public order laws for wearing trousers. Police and security forces today arrested the women while they were demonstrating in front of a North Khartoum Criminal Court, which was holding its third hearing in the controversial Lubna Hussein case.