Christian
Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has learned that Pastor Hafiz Mengisto, senior
minister of the Khartoum Bahri
Evangelical Church was acquitted of obstructing a public servant from
performing the duties of his office on 29 December 2015. Mohaned Mustafa,
lawyer for the church who was charged with the same crime had his case
dismissed on 23 December 2015.
Mr Mustafa and
Pastor Mengisto’s trial began on 14 December 2015 at the Khartoum Bahri
Criminal Court. On 23 December, the court accepted that the prosecution had
failed to follow procedure when initiating a criminal case against a registered
lawyer and dismissed the case against Mr Mustafa. The case against Pastor
Mengisto continued until 29 December, when the court ruled that the church leader
had not committed a crime.
Pastor Mengisto and
Mr Mustafa were arrested and
charged on 1 July 2015 after police officers arrived at Khartoum Bahri
Evangelical Church with a court order to demolish a building on the church’s
property. Pastor Mengisto sustained injuries to his head and ear while in
police custody and required medical attention upon his release.
The trial of Mr
Mustafa and Pastor Mengisto occurred in the midst of a crackdown against
Christians in Sudan. During December 2015, National Intelligence) and Security
Service (NISS) agents arrested a
Christian activist and two religious leaders. Talahon Nigosi Kassa Ratta, an
activist and member of the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church (SEPC), was
arrested on 14 December 2015 in Khartoum and Reverends Kuwa Shamal and Hassan
Abduraheem of the Sudan Church of Christ were arrested on 19 December 2015.
While Mr Ratta’s parents were able to visit him in Kober Men’s Prison at the
end of December 2015, he has since been moved to an unknown location and
remains detained without charge. Reverends Shamal and Abduraheem are also being
held in unknown locations without charge.
CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “We welcome the court’s
decision to acquit Pastor Mengisto and dismiss the case against Mr Mustafa.
However, we remain deeply concerned by the State’s repressive actions against
religious minorities in Sudan, as exemplified by the arrest and detention of Mr
Ratta and Reverends Shamal and Abduraheem. We call for their immediate and
unconditional release. Their detention without charge is in clear violation of
their right to liberty and security of person as detailed in article 9 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Sudan is
a party and we appeal to the international community, and in particular to the
African Union, to hold Sudan to its obligations under international law by
pressing for their immediate release.”