On 15 May, national security forces in three armed cars arrested Dr. Hassan Al Turabi, the leader of the opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP), from his home in the Manshya area of Khartoum at 11:30 PM. His family indicated that they were unaware of the reason for his arrest, but his son Sidiq speculated that it might have been sparked by an interview with Akhbar Alyoum newspaper in which Turabi accused the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of rigging the elections and corruption, and threatened to publish information proving these allegations.

Turabi’s PCP was one of the few opposition parties taking part in all levels of the April polls. Turabi had, nonetheless, been critical of the lack of elections preparations and the ruling party’s monopoly of the media. Turabi rejected the election results in a press conference on 17 April, saying that his party would refuse to recognise the results even if they were shown to win in some constituencies. He accused the National Elections Commission (NEC) of poorly managing the polls and refused the NCP’s offer of participation in the new government.

Turabi remains in detention as of early 17 May. He was reportedly transferred to Kober prison after being taken to an unknown location. The same NISS agents that arrested Turabi later invaded and occupied the premises of Rai Alshaab newspaper, seen as aligned with the Popular Congress Party.

This operation was carried out under the orders of NISS Director General Mohamed Atta, under Articles 25(d) of the National Security Act of 2010 and Articles 26 (a and b) of the Press and Publications Act of 2009. NISS agents broke down the doors, closed the building, confiscated materials and prevented journalists from entering. Security agents arrested Alnagi Dahab, Rai Alshaab’s executive manager, and editors Ashraf Abd Alaziz, Abazer Ali Alamin, and Abo Bakr Alsamani. These four have not been charged, and remain detained in an unknown location. In addition, General Atta issued a decree to the NISS to seize the property and liquidate the assets of Alnawda for Media and Press Company, the publisher of Rai Alshaab. Kamal Omer, political secretary of the PCP, confirmed that all of Rai Alshaab’s assets had indeed been seized. On the morning of 16 May, the newspaper’s staff was not allowed to enter their offices and Sunday’s paper was not published.

The reasons for the closure of the newspaper and the arrest of the journalists remain unclear. A senior security source stated that the newspaper was “misrepresenting the opinions of the people and damaging the national security of the country…they have spread sedition and abuse over Sudan’s relationship with its citizens, neighbours, and the international community”. The Secretary General of the National Press Council, Obaid Ahmed Marawah, stated that the Council denounced the decision to shut down the paper “in principle” but added that “it has come to our attention more than once that the press should pay attention to their predecessors that have stirred up the community. This is an issue related to the abuse of the state and its government figures”. A statement issued by the Ministry of Media and Information suggested that Rai Alshaab had published two front cover stories about the collaboration between the Iranian revolutionary guard and the government and a the upsurge in the alleged conflict between Sudan and Egypt, respectively. Others speculated that this might have been linked to Turabi’s threat to publish incriminating information about the government. Some government sources stated that the closure of Rai Alshaab had no link to Turabi.

The NISS, Ministry of Information and Communications, National Press Council, and Ministry of Media and Information all stated that the closure would not affect the liberties accorded by the Interim National Constitution and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which are respected by the NISS.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies urges the government of Sudan to promptly and publicly charge Turabi and the arrested journalists with an internationally recognised crime or to release them immediately from detention, and notes that the legal framework under which they were arrested is contradictory to the Interim National Constitution. In addition, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies urges the government of Sudan to respect the right of the journalists, editors and other staff to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 39 of the Sudanese Interim National Constitution.

Background:

Dr. Hassan Al-Turabi became one of Sudan’s key opposition leaders after the NCP fractured in 2000, and Turabi assumed control of a splinter faction of the NCP, the PCP. The rift developed in the late 90’s when Turabi, then the Speaker of the Parliament, introduced a bill to reduce President Bashir’s power. Since 2000, Turabi has been arrested five times, and spent 2000 – 2003 and much of 2004 – 2005 in prison. Reasons for his arrests have ranged from public statements he has made against the policies of the National Congress Party and calling for Bashir to turn himself over to the International Criminal Court for the sake of the country.

The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.

Tags: ACJPS, Akhbar Alyoum, Darfur, Hassan al-Turabi, Khartoum, National Congress Party, National Elections Commission, National Intelligence and Security Service, National Security Act, NCP, NEC, NISS, Omar al-Bashir, PCP, Popular Congress Party, Rai Alshaab, Sudan

This entry was posted on Monday, May 17th, 2010 at 5:12 pm and is filed under Elections, Presidential Election. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.