After evidence showing torture in crackdown on opposition, African Union slams Sudan dictatorship

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In response to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) calling on the Sudanese government to investigate and prosecute alleged human rights abuses committed by security and intelligence services against three prominent Sudanese activists, Freedom House issued the following statement:

“The Commission’s action is a critical recognition of the hostile human rights environment in Sudan, where human rights defenders are routinely subjected to harassment and even torture,” said Vukasin Petrovic, regional director for Africa. “Sudan should recognize and fulfill its obligations to uphold the rights, freedoms and duties enshrined in the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, to safeguard against torture and provide effective remedies for victims.”

Background:
On February 13, 2015 the ACHPR called on Sudan to investigate and prosecute all those persons who participated in the illegal incarceration and torture of human rights activists Monim Elgak, Amir Suleiman, and the late Osman Hummeida, and provide reparations for the victims.

In 2009, the victims sent a formal complaint to the Commission stating that during their incarceration, Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services violated several of the human rights guaranteed in the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, of which Sudan is a signatory. The commission found the victims’ complaint admissible in 2012. Sudan has 180 days from the date of the decision to comply with the Commission’s recommendations.

Sudan is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2015, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2014, and Not Free in Freedom on the Net 2014.

Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights. Join us on Facebook and Twitter (freedomhousedc) and Instagram.

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