Sudan arrests nine human rights activists

  1. Posted on Tuesday 2 November 2010 - 10:40
    Muhyadin
    Muhyadin Ahmed Roble, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
    Sudan detained nine Darfur activists among a prominent human rights lawyer, just weeks ahead of a southern referendum timetable. "The total number arrested is nine activists -- all of them from Darfur. One of them is a very active lawyer in the Darfur lawyer's association," a civil society leader Elbaqir Mokhtar said.
    SUDAN - Darfur rebel leaders surrender to ICC
    The leader said the soldiers are targeting the Human Rights and Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND), for which most of those arrested, worked for.

    He said there is no information about charges against them or even where they were being detained. Mokhtar said the arrests began on Saturday but continued until last night.

    A source in Sudan's National Security and Intelligence Services said they had no information about the arrests, according to Reuters.

    Mokhtar said the arrests cast doubt on whether Khartoum would allow civil society to work freely ahead of the referendum. "It's now really raised alarm bells that probably what is coming is going to be worse".

    President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s authority who is wanted for war crimes in western Sudan region of Darfur forced many human rights activists to flee Sudan in 2009.

    ICC accuses Bashir of running a campaign of rape, murder and other crimes against humanity in Darfur. Bashir denies the charges. Bashir denies the charges.

    The South will vote on January 9 in a referendum to determine whether South Sudan will be an independent state or remain with Sudan. The voter registration will start on 14 November and end on 4 December.

    The referendum was part of a 2005 peace deal to end two decades of conflict between the north and oil-rich south in which some 1.5 million people died.

    Law and order in the Western Region of Darfur has collapsed since 2003 when black African rebels began to take arms against the Sudan government.

    The ongoing conflicts in Darfur has killed some 300,000 people and displaced more than 2.5 million others, according to a UN report. Sudan however said only 10,000 people are dead.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive