Incommunicado detention of Mohamed Hasan Alim ‘Al Boshi’
Sudanese human rights defender Mohamed Hasan Alim, known as ‘Al Boshi’, was forcibly disappeared in Egypt in October 2018 and allegedly resurfaced in Sudan, where he is being held incommunicado by Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service. On 8 November 2018, after refusing to provide any information about his detention, the State Security Prosecution pressed charges against the human rights defender that carry the death penalty. To date, he has been denied any access to his lawyers or family.
Mohamed Hasan Alim ‘Al Boshi’ is a blogger and human rights defender who denounces corruption and human rights violations via social media. He was previously detained for several weeks in 2011 and 2013, beaten and held in difficult conditions because of his work in defence of human rights. He has lived in exile in Egypt since 2017 as an asylum seeker under UNHCR protection.
Sudanese human rights defender Mohamed Hasan Alim, known as ‘Al Boshi’, was forcibly disappeared in Egypt in October 2018 and was taken to Sudan, where he is being held incommunicado by Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service. On 8 November 2018, after refusing to provide any information about his detention, the State Security Prosecution pressed charges against the human rights defender that carry the death penalty. To date, he has been denied any access to his lawyers or family.
View or Download Urgent Appeal
Human rights defender Mohamed Hasan Alim was reportedly arrested on 10 October 2018 by Egyptian security agents who raided his house in Cairo. On 11 October 2018, the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service informed the his mother that her son had been deported back to Sudan and was in detention. Despite several attempts to see him, Mohamed Hasan Alim’s mother and lawyers are being denied the right to visit him.
On 8 November 2018, the State Security Prosecution pressed several charges against Mohamed Hasan Alim, including “undermining the constitutional system”(article 50), waging war against the state” (article 51), “espionage against the country” (article 53), “provoking hatred against or amongst sects” (article 64), “publication of false news” (article 66), “disturbance of public peace” (article 69), “public nuisance” (article 77), from the Sudanese Criminal Act. Furthermore, charges from the Informatic Offenses Combating Act of 2007 were brought against him such as “fraud” article 11, “breach of public order” article 14, and “defamation” article 17. Some of these charges could lead to the death penalty.
Detained human rights defenders in Sudan are often being held in cells that fall outside the jurisdiction of prison laws and regulations, and there have been reports of ill-treatment and torture. Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned about the situation of human rights defender Mohamed Hasan Alim and condemns his ongoing incommunicado detention, which it believes it to be solely connected to his legitimate and peaceful work in promoting and protecting human rights in Sudan.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Sudan to:
1. Immediately and unconditionally release Mohamed Hasan Alim and ensure that all the charges brought against him are dropped as Front Line Defenders believes that he is being held solely as a result of his legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights;
2. Allow Mohamed Hasan Alim contact with his family and lawyers and ensure his treatment, while in detention, adheres to all the conditions set out in the 'Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners, adopted by the General Assembly resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990';
3. Ensure that all human rights defenders in Sudan, carrying out their legitimate work in the defence of human rights, are able to operate free of restrictions and reprisals, including judicial harassment.
