Reverend Kuwa Shamal, a minister of the Sudan Church of Christ, was re-arrested by the police on 24 May.
Reverend Kuwa Shamal, a minister of the Sudan Church of Christ, was
re-arrested by the police on 24 May.
Reverend Shamal had been reporting daily to the National Intelligence
and Security Service (NISS) offices as a condition of his release, following
his initial arrest in December 2015 during a crackdown by the authorities
on Christians in the country.
His reporting
conditions had been removed on 16 January 2016 but were reinstated in February
2016, when he was also required to hand over his passport, laptop
computer and other personal items to NISS. On 24 May, he reported to NISS as usual, but was
arrested unexpectedly by the police and his case is now with the prosecutor.
Reverend Shamal's arrest follows the transfer of his colleague Reverend
Hassan Abduraheem from the detention of NISS to the Attorney
General’s custody on 9 May.
Lawyers representing Reverend Abduraheem have confirmed that a criminal investigation
has been initiated by the prosecutor, who may charge him with national security
crimes. The lawyers also confirmed that Reverend Shamal
has been added to the prosecutor's investigation. The
lawyers expressed concern at the conditions in which the men are being
detained, noting that the clergymen are being held in small rooms with
intermittent electricity supply and limited ventilation.
Both Reverends Shamal and
Abduraheem are from the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, an area
where since 2011 the Khartoum government has conducted an
indiscriminate campaign of aerial bombardment in its war against the Sudan
People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLMN), causing multiple civilian deaths
and destroying humanitarian structures.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s
Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “We
are deeply concerned by the re-arrest of Reverend Kuwa Shamal. The Reverend has
complied for months with NISS’s requirement that he reports daily to their
offices, even though he had not been charged with any crime. His
treatment and that of Reverend Abduraheem are indicative of a government
campaign to harass and restrict the rights of the Christian community. These developments and the ongoing detention of
Reverends Abduraheem and Shamal also raise concerns regarding Sudan's
compliance with fair trial principles, articulated in the 2005 interim
constitution and the country's international obligations. We urge the
authorities to end the judicial harassment of the Christian community and to uphold
the right to freedom of religion or belief for every citizen. We also call
on the Sudanese authorities to rectify any derogation from constitutional and
international fair trial principles and ensure that the men are detained in a
safe and habitable environment."
Notes to Editors:
1. In
December 2015, Reverends Shamal and Abduraheem were arrested
at their homes in Khartoum Bahri and Omdurman respectively.