Human Rights Watch (HRW) voiced concern over the arbitrary detention of Sudanese activists and called on the government to release them, pointing to reports of alleged torture.
In a statement released Tuesday, HRW said the Sudanese security service has detained on Dec. 6 a "human rights activist Rudwan Dawod, a 35-year-old dual Sudanese-American citizen, who visited El Jereif suburb in Khartoum to show solidarity with local community protests against government land expropriations.
"He is being held in an unknown location, without access to a lawyer or his family."
The National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) continue to arrest political and rights activists in Sudan despite the recommendations of the National Dialogue Conference in October 2016.
“Sudan locks up activists for weeks on end, holds them incommunicado, and subjects them to abuse, including torture,” said Jehanne Henry, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“Authorities need to end these detentions and grant all detainees full access to family, lawyers, and medical care,” Henry further called.
The statement also reported the case of Nasreldin Mukhtar, a prominent Darfuri student activist arrested on Aug. 22, and eight Darfuri students arrested in mid-September while protesting the NISS detentions of two other students.
Rights activists and political opponents say the NISS continue to carry out arbitrary detention and arrest operations, ignoring pledges to allow activists to work in a safe and enabling environment without fear.
“Torture and prolonged, arbitrary detention are still routine practice in Sudan, used as a means to stifle dissent and dialogue,” Henry said. “These tactics are further evidence of Sudan’s appalling rights record.”
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This article has been adapted from its original source.
