The Sudan government has continued to escalate its assaults against civil society, most notably with the recent arrests of several Sudanese activists. In December, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) authorities arrested human rights lawyer Tasneem Ahmed Taha, as well as three other lawyers, a move which prompted more than 200 lawyers to sign a petition calling for their release. Two weeks before Taha’s arrest, NISS also detained activist Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, as well as his driver and accountant. They are currently being held without charges or access to visitors in Khartoum, Sudan. Sabah Mohamed Adam, wife of Dr. Adam, has contacted the Sudanese Commission on Human Rights with concerned about the possibility of her husband being tortured in prison – a violation of Sudan’s ratification of Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

NISS’s arrests of activists like Taha and Adam have become an ongoing trend since Sudanese citizens’ “stay-home” protests last month. Sudanese citizens mobilized to protest the country’s rising cost of living, but the movement spurred the Sudanese government to respond with a “massive crackdown on opposition parties, activists and the press.” State repression of dissent has resulted in an “unprecedented number of arrests of human rights and political figures” in the country.

The World Movement for Democracy is alarmed by the crackdown on freedom of expression, and urges the Sudan government to unconditionally release all arbitrarily detained activists. Join us in sharing this solidarity tweet.