Open Letter concerning the arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detentions of Dr Amin Mekki Medani, Mr Farouq Abu Eissa, and Dr Farah Ibrahim Mohamed Alagar by the Government of Sudan

RIGHTS DEFENDERS, MS REINE ALAPINI-GANSOU

C/o African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

31 Bijilo Annex Layout

Kombo North District

Western Region

P.O. Box 673 Banjul

The Gambia

Sent via e-mail: au-banjul@africa-union.org & africancommission@yahoo.com

AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTSSPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM

OF EXPRESSION AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION, MS FAITHPANSY TLAKULA

Election House, 260, Walker Street, Sunnyside

Pretoria, PO Box 7943, Pretoria 0001

South Africa

Sent via e-mail: au-banjul@africa-union.org & africancommission@yahoo.com

AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTSCOMMISSIONER ON THE HUMAN

RIGHTS SITUATION IN SUDAN, MR LAWRENCE MUTE

No. 10, Laiboni Close, Nkoroi North Road, Nkoroi

PO Box 557 – 00517

Nairobi, Kenya

Sent via e-mail: au-banjul@africa-union.org &africancommission@yahoo.com

UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATIONOF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, MR

MICHEL FORST

UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE FREEDOM OFEXPRESSION, MR DAVID KAYE

UNITED NATIONS INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON THE SITUATIONOF HUMAN RIGHTS IN SUDAN, MR

ARISTIDE NONONSI

CHAIR-RAPPORTEUR OF THE UNITED NATIONS WORKINGGROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION, MR

MADS ANDENAS

UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE, MRJUAN ERNESTO MENDEZ

c/o Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Palais Wilson, United Nations Office at Geneva

CH1211 Geneva 10

Switzerland

Sent via e-mail: defenders@ohchr.org, freedex@ohchr.org,iesudan@ohchr.org, urgent-action@ohchr.org & wgad@ohchr.org

19 December 2014

Open Letter concerning the arbitrary arrest andincommunicado detentions of Dr Amin Mekki

Medani, Mr Farouq Abu Eissa, and Dr Farah IbrahimMohamed Alagar by the Government of

Sudan

Dear Ms Alapini-Gansou, Ms Tlakula, Mr Mute, Mr Forst,Mr Kaye, Mr Nononsi ,Mr Andenas and Mr

Mendez,

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies,Bahrain Center for Human Rights, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, theDarfur Bar Association, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights DefendersProject, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights, theInternational Refugee Rights Initiative, Journalists for Human Rights, theMoroccan Human Rights Organisation, REDRESS, the Sudanese Human Rights Monitorand the World Organisation against Torture are writing to urge you to act uponour request to call upon the Government of Sudan to release the human rights lawyerDr Amin Mekki Medani and activists Mr Farouq Abu Eissa and DrFarah Ibrahim Mohamed Alagar without charge from Sudanese NationalIntelligence and Security Services’ (NISS) custody. As outlined further below,their detentions are thought to be connected solely to the peaceful expressionof their beliefs in favour of democratic principles and peace and security inSudan, in violation of the lawful exercise of their rights guaranteed underSudan’s Interim National Constitution (INC), the African Charter on Human andPeoples’ Rights (ACHPR), and the International Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights (ICCPR).

We are sending this letter to you in your capacitiesas Special Procedure mandate holders as it

engages your respective mandates. We are aware of theUN High Commissioner for Human Rights’

public statement of 12 December 2014 urging theGovernment of Sudan to “release the three men

in the absence of valid legal charges or promptlycharge them with a recognizable offence and bring

them before a judge with guarantees of their fairtrial rights.” Notwithstanding the OHCHR’s call, all

three men remain in incommunicado detention. Theycontinue being denied visits from their

families and lawyers and their continued detentionraises serious concerns for their health and

safety.

Both Dr Medani and Mr Abu Eissa are in their seventiesand have specific medical needs as both are

diabetic. Dr Medani has high blood pressure and NISSprevented him from taking his medication

with him upon arrest. Mr Eissa suffers from cyanosis.The families of both men have sought to

provide them with food, also given their healthcondition and dietary requirements, but the NISS

officials refused to receive it.

Our organisations are unaware of any criminal chargesfiled against Dr. Medani, Mr. Eissa, or Dr.

Alagar as of 18 December 2014.

The arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention ofDr. Medani, Mr. Eissa, and Dr. Alagar by the

Government of Sudan is in violation of their right toliberty, freedom of expression, and the rights

and freedoms guaranteed to human rights defenders. Thecircumstances of their detention also

raise concerns over the right to be free fromill-treatment or torture. In light of the urgency of the

situation, we respectfully request you to urgentlyundertake the following actions:

1. Publicly call upon theGovernment of Sudan to immediately release Dr Amin Mekki Medani, Mr Eissa, andDr Alagar in the absence of valid charges against them, to disclose their whereaboutsand grant access to their family members and a lawyer of choosing, to guaranteetheir safety, and to grant them any medical assistance they may require.

2. Publicly call upon the Government of Sudan to unconditionallyguarantee Dr Medani, Mr Eissa, and Dr Alagar’s rights under the ACHPR and ICCPR.

3. Publicly declare that the detentionsconstitute a violation of the right to freedom of expression, as protected byArticle 9 of the ACHPR, Article 19 of the ICCPR and Article 19 of the UDHR, andthe protection enjoyed by detainees as set out in the UN Declaration on HumanRights Defenders.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have anyquestions or if we can provide you with any

additional information you may need.

Yours sincerely,

African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies

Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies

Darfur Bar Association

East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project

Human Rights Watch

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

International Refugee Rights Initiative

Journalists for Human Rights

Moroccan Human Rights Organisation

REDRESS

Sudanese Human Rights Monitor

World Organisation against Torture (OMCT)

Background

Just before midnight on 6 December 2014, theGovernment of Sudan’s NISS arrested two prominent

public figures on their return from politicalnegotiations held in Addis Ababa between Sudanese

political and armed opposition groups. A large numberof personnel from the NISS, arriving in six

vehicles, arrested Dr Amin Mekki Medani, (m),75 years of age, and Mr Farouq Abu Eissa, (m), 78

years of age, from their homes in Khartoum. Althoughtheir families were not informed of the

reasons for the arrests, the men were detained aftersigning the “Sudan Call” on 3 December in

Addis Ababa.

The “Sudan Call” is a declaration that commitssignatories to work towards the end of the conflicts

raging in different regions of Sudan. The documentalso pledges to work towards legal, institutional

and economic reforms. Dr Amin Mekki Medani signed thedocument on behalf of a group of civil

society actors. Mr Farouq Abu Eissa signed on behalfof the Sudanese National Consensus Forces –

an umbrella of political opposition parties – in hiscapacity as Chairperson of that group.

In the early hours of Sunday, 7 December, Dr FarahIbrahim Mohamed Alagar, (m), 60 years of age,

was arrested by the NISS from his home in Alfitihabneighbourhood of Omdurman. Dr Alagar had

also attended the Sudan Call negotiations in AddisAbaba but had not signed the resulting document.

Around 10 members of the NISS reportedly arrived athis home at 1am and took him to their offices

in Khartoum Bahri without providing reasons for hisarrest.

These arrests come following a pattern of detentions –and prosecutions - that appear aimed at

silencing any form of criticism of the policies of theruling party. The past six months have seen

scores of political and youth activists, as well asprominent human rights defenders, detained. These

cases raise serious concerns about increasingrestrictions on freedom of expression, association and

assembly in Sudan.

Dr Medani is a prolific member of the Sudanese humanrights movement. He was the Chairperson of

the organisation Sudanese Human Rights Monitor, FIDHmember organisation in the country, and is

currently an Executive Board member of over sixnon-governmental human rights organizations and

legal associations. Dr Medani has also worked forvarious international organisations including as the

head of the OHCHR in the West Bank, Gaza and Croatiaand as a legal adviser to the Special

Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General in Iraqand Afghanistan.

Mr Farouq Abu Eissa is the Chairperson of the NationalConsensus Forces, an umbrella of political

opposition groups in Sudan, and has a long history ofpolitical activism. He has been one of the most

preeminent voices in calls by Sudan’s oppositionparties for democratic transformation in Sudan.

He is the former Secretary General of the ArabLawyers’ Union and the National Democratic Alliance.

Dr Alagar is a retired officer from the Sudan ArmedForces and was formally the chairperson of the

National Congress Party (NCP) in Blue Nile state. Hewas dismissed from the ruling party in

December 2012, reportedly because he expressed viewsdiverging from the official NCP line,

including on the possibility of power sharing in BlueNile state between the NCP and Sudan Peoples’

Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). He was laterengaged in April 2014 as an independent

conflict resolution expert by the SPLM-N to attendongoing peace talks in Addis between the SPLM-N

and the Government of Sudan.