Case History: Adil Bakheit
On 18 July 2016, human rights defenders Adil Bakheit will appear before the Khartoum Central Criminal Court. He is charged with seven criminal offences including “waging war against the State”.
The hearing is postponed until 18 August.
Adil Bakheit is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sudan Human Rights Monitor (SHRM), a member organisation of the Confederation of Sudanese Civil Society Organisations, working to monitor violations of human rights in Sudan. Bakheit also collaborates with civil society groups in Sudan as an independent trainer of journalists and human rights defenders.
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- 19 July 2016 : Trial adjourned for human rights defenders Adil Bakheit and Khalafalla Mukhtar Alafif
- 15 July 2016 : Upcoming court hearing of human rights defenders Adil Bakheit and Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar
- 27 May 2016 : Human rights defenders unlawfully charged and arbitrarily detained
- 6 May 2015 : Adil Bakheit conditionally released
- 17 April 2015 : Human rights defender Adil Bakheit arrested
On 18 July 2016, the Khartoum Central Criminal Court postponed the trial of human rights defenders Adil Bakheit and Khalafalla Mukhtar Alafif to 1 August 2016. The hearing session which was scheduled to be set at 11am, began at 10am and was subsequently adjourned due to the absence of the defendants. They are both charged with seven criminal offences including “waging war against the State” which carries the death penalty. Khalafalla has been held at the Prosecutor’s Office in Khartoum since 22 May 2016.
On 18 July 2016, human rights defenders Adil Bakheit and Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar will both appear before the Khartoum Central Criminal Court. They are charged with seven criminal offences including “waging war against the State”. Khalafalla has been held at the Prosecutor’s Office in Khartoum since 22 May 2016, along with his colleagues Mustafa Adam, Midhat A Hamdan. The charges pertain to a training organised by TRACKS on social responsibility.
Download the Urgent Appeal (PDF)
Adil Bakheit is a Sudanese human rights defender, member of the Board of Trustees of Sudanese Human Rights Monitor (SHRM), which documents human rights violations in Sudan, provides legal assistance to victims of State abuse and defends minorities in Sudan. Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar is a Sudanese human rights defender and director of the Khartoum Centre for Training and Human Development (TRACKS), which provides and facilitates training on human rights and information technology, among others.
On 26 March 2015, approximately ten plain-clothed National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) agents raided the premises of TRACKS during the last day of a five day training on “social responsibility and active citizenship”. No search warrant was presented, and computers, laptops and documents belonging to TRACKS were confiscated.
On 16 April 2015, Adil was arrested and charged with “joint acts in the execution of criminal conspiracy, criminal conspiracy, undermining the constitutional system, waging war against the State, calling for opposition to public authority by use of violent or criminal force, publication of false news, and impersonating a public servant”. The offences of waging war against the state and undermining the constitutional system carry the death penalty. On 3 June 2015 he was released on bail. Later in May 2015, Khalafalla was charged with the same above-mentioned offences.
On 29 February 2016, TRACKS was subjected to a second office raid, by NISS officers who again did not produce a warrant. The NISS referred the staff members present to the police station where they were interrogated, verbally abused, ill-treated and threatened.
On 22 May 2016, Khalafalla, Mustafa Adam, Midhat A Hamdan and their colleagues Nudaina Kamal, Arwa Elrabie, Imany-Leyla Raye, Hassan Kheiry, Khuzaini El Hadi, and Al Shazali Ibrahim Al Sheikh, were requested to report to the Prosecutor’s Office for questioning in relation to the raid carried-out on 26 March 2015. Nudaina Kamal was released shortly after her arrest on the same day, Arwa Elrabie and Imany-Leyla Raye were both released on bail on 30 May, Hassan Kheiry, Khuzaini El Hadi and Al Shazali Ibrahim Al Sheikh were released on 7 June. However, Khalafalla, Mustafa Adam and Midhat A Hamdan are still detained at the Prosecutor's office, in a narrow 3x5 metre cell with very low ventilation. Khalafalla's health is reported to be deteriorating rapidly due to a weak heart condition and family visits are only permitted with permission of the Chief Prosecutor, which family members often fail to receive.
Front Line Defenders expresses strong concern for the repeated acts of harassment and intimidation against TRACKS and its members, as well as activists associated with the Centre, and for the charges brought against Adil Bakheit and Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar, which it believes to be directly motivated by their peaceful and legitimate human rights activities.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in the Republic of the Sudan to:
1. Immediately drop all charges outstanding against Adil Bakheit and Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar;
2. Immediately and unconditionally release Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar, Mustafa Adam and Midhat A Hamdan from detention;
3. Ensure that the treatment of Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar, Mustafa Adam and Midhat A Hamdan, while in detention, adheres to the conditions set out in the ‘Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment', adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988;
4. Allow the above human rights defenders immediate and unfettered access to their families and lawyers;
5. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in the Republic of the Sudan are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
Human rights defenders Mr Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar and Mr Adil Bakheit are currently being detained at the Prosecutor’s Office in Khartoum, following their arrest on 22 May 2016. The human rights defenders were arrested in relation to charges against them for a training they attended in March of last year. The training was held at the premises of the Khartoum Centre for Training and Human Development (TRACKS), of which Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar is the Director. Both human rights defenders are facing serious criminal charges including “undermining the constitutional system” and “waging war against the State”, considered as crimes against the State and punishable by the death penalty.
Download the Urgent Appeal (PDF)
Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar is a Sudanese human rights defender and director of TRACKS, a Khartoum-based organisation which provides and facilitates trainings on a variety of topics ranging from human rights to information technology. Adil Bakheit is a Sudanese human rights defender and a member of the Board of Trustees of Sudanese Human Rights Monitor organisation (SHRM), a Khartoum-based human rights group and member organisation of the Confederation of Sudanese Civil Society Organisations, documenting human rights violations in Sudan, providing legal assistance to victims of State abuse and working on the defence of minorities in Sudan.
Human rights defenders Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar and Adil Bakheit, along with eight staff members and activists associated with the Centre are currently being detained in the office of the Prosecutor for State Security in Al-Amarat district, Khartoum since 22 May 2016. The two human rights defenders and two staff members, Ms Nudaina Kamal and Mr Hassan Kheiry, were requested to report to the aforementioned office after a court hearing at the Khartoum Central Criminal Court on 22 May 2016, following a summons they received on 19 May 2016. The hearing was postponed until 8 June 2016 and all four remain in detention. No charges have yet been filed against the two staff members and no official reason has been given for the summons they received. A further nine staff members were summoned to report to the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) after the court session, eight of which are in detention.
Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar's health is reported to be deteriorating rapidly due to a weak heart condition. He was quickly transferred to the Police Hospital on 25 May 2016 before being placed in a narrow cell at the Prosecutor’s office, which he shares with the other male TRACKS detainees, including trainers Hassan Kheiry and Midhat A Hamdan, office supervisor Al Shazali Ibrahim Al Sheikh, accountant Khuzaini El Hadi, Mustafa Adam and a guest of the centre. The two female staff members, volunteer Imani-Leyla Raye and administration manager Arwa Ahmed Elrabie were requested to stay in the reception area and are held in a different office room during the night. Ms. Nudaina Kamal was released shortly after her arrest as she is on maternity leave.
Both Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar and Adil Bakheit are facing seven serious charges under the 1991 Criminal Act including “joint acts in the execution of criminal conspiracy, criminal conspiracy, undermining the constitutional system, waging war against the State, calling for opposition to public authority by use of violent or criminal force, publication of false news, and impersonating a public servant.” The Prosecutor for Crimes against the State in charge of the case can sentence the detainees to the death penalty under Article 50 for “undermining the constitutional system” and Article 51 for “waging war against the State”. The charges pertain to a raid on TRACKS offices last year for organising a training on social responsibility.
TRACKS was subjected to a second office raid on 29 February 2016, by plain-clothed NISS agents who did not produce a warrant. They confiscated staff members' passports, which have not yet been returned, and referred them to the police station where they were interrogated, verbally abused, ill-treated and threatened. The raid was carried out in connection with the case brought against the Director of TRACKS, following the previous raid on 26 March 2015.
Front Line Defenders expresses grave concern for the detention and criminal charges brought against Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar and Adil Bakheit, which it believes to be solely motivated by their peaceful work in the defence of human rights. It also expresses concern at the recent pattern of judicial harassment and unlawful investigations which have been intensely increasing over the past few months, against human rights defenders and organisations, as well as the increased use of arbitrary detention by the NISS as a tool for the repression of the work of human rights defenders in Sudan.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in the Republic of the Sudan to:
1. Immediately and unconditionally release human rights defenders Khalafalla Alafif Mukhtar and Adil Bakheit, and all staff members of TRACKS and drop all charges against them, as Front Line Defenders believes that they are being held solely as a result of his legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights;
2. Ensure that their treatment, while in detention, adheres to the conditions set out in the ‘Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment', adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988;
3. Immediately return the passports of staff, trainers, as well as visitors to the Centre, and refrain from any further harassment of the human rights organisation;
4. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in the Republic of the Sudan are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
On 3 May 2015, human rights defender Mr Adil Bakheit was released from detention on bail.
Prior to his release, Adil Bakheit had appealed the State Security Prosecution Office's decision to charge him on the basis of seven articles of the Criminal Act, 1991. The charges included criminal conspiracy, calling for opposition to public authority through the use of violence, publication of false news, waging war against the State, and impersonating a public servant. These charges remain outstanding and Bakheit faces the possibility of rearrest at any time. The human rights defender was also charged with offences against the State undermining the constitutional system, punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty, however this charge has been dropped.
Adil Bakheit was summoned and subsequently detained on 18 April 2015 at Al Awasat Police Station, and there charged by the State Security Prosecution Office. The charges against Adil Bakheit are reportedly based on a human rights workshop he conducted on 26 March 2015 at the Tracks Training Centre. Documents and laptops were confiscated on that day, including Adil Bakheit's laptop.
Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested human rights defender Adil Bakheit on 16 April 2015 in Khartoum.
Bakheit's arrest occurred at the Tracks Training Centre. He was subsequently held in custody at Al Awasat Police Station, where the State Security Prosecution Office charged the human rights defender based on seven articles of the Criminal Act 1991, including criminal conspiracy, calling for opposition to public authority through the use of violence, publication of false news, offences against the State undermining the constitutional system, waging war against the State, and impersonating a public servant.
The charges against Bakheit are reportedly based on a human rights workshop he conducted on 26 March 2015 at the Tracks Training Centre. Documents and laptops were confiscated on that day, including Bakheit's laptop, and three of the centre's staff were interrogated following a raid on the premises. The charges against the human rights defender mean he faces possible sentences amounting to life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Sudan Human Rights Monitor and its members have previously been targeted by the NISS. On Sunday, 21 December 2014 at approximately 12 pm, a group from the NISS raided the premises of the organisation and forced the cancellation of a workshop focused on training for shadow reporting for the United Nations Universal Periodic Review which was being held there.
Bakheit's arrest is indicative of a widespread crackdown on citizens working for reform and advocating for human rights in Sudan.
The NISS arrested human rights defender Amin Mekki Medani on December 6, 2014 and detained him incommunicado until 21 December 2014. His arrest was connected to his support for the "Sudan Call," a document drafted by opposition groups and civil society members calling for a peaceful and popular democratic transformation. The Special Anti-Terrorism Court in Khartoum began its trial against Medani on 23 February 2015, on charges of “undermining the constitutional system” and “waging war against the state.” both of which are presumably punishable by death. After an extended trial, the Minister of Justice froze the case against Medani and released him from jail on 9 April 2015.
Less than a week later, on April 12, unidentified men kidnapped human rights defender Sandra Kodouda from her car. Kodouda, an outspoken advocate for youth, women, and environmental rights, returned home four days later with multiple injuries. Local rights groups and family members publicly blamed the NISS for her disappearance.
