Sudan: Killing of three human rights defenders in Darfur
On 17 and 18 June 2023, three human rights defenders Abd Elrazeg Adam Mohammed, Tareg Hassan Yagoub Elmalik and El Sadeg Mohammed Ahmed Haroun were killed in El Geneina, West Darfur. On 18 June 2023, the human rights defender and lawyer El Sadeg Mohammed Ahmed Haroun was killed in El Geneina. The human rights defender was a member of the Darfur Bar Association and was part of a group of lawyers who filed cases against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, accusing them of horrific attacks on the Krinding camp for internally displaced persons in El Geneina on 16 January 2021 and 28 April 2022.
El Sadeg Mohammed Ahmed Haroun was a human rights defender and lawyer who provided legal aid to victims of human rights violations. He was also a member of the Darfur Bar Association, an organisation of Sudanese lawyers established in 1995. The association received the 2020 Democracy Award for supporting and providing legal aid to victims of human rights violations in Darfur. He was part of a group of lawyers who filed cases against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, accusing them of horrific attacks on the Krinding IDP camp in El Geneina on 16 January 2021 and 28 April 2022He was killed in El Geneina, West Darfur on 18 June 2023.
On 17 and 18 June 2023, three human rights defenders Abd Elrazeg Adam Mohammed, Tareg Hassan Yagoub Elmalik and El Sadeg Mohammed Ahmed Haroun were killed in El Geneina, West Darfur.
On 17 June 2023, Abd Elrazeg Adam Mohammed, a 28-year-old human rights defender and memeber of the Darfur Network of Monitors, was killed along with his parents and his 4 brothers in El Geneina.
On 18 June 2023, the human rights defender, lawyer and one of the founding members of the Darfur Bar Association Tareg Hassan Yagoub Elmalik was killed in his house in El Geneina. The human rights defender was also a memeber of the steering committee for the Sudanese Bar Association.
On 18 June 2023, the human rights defender and lawyer El Sadeg Mohammed Ahmed Haroun was killed in El Geneina. The human rights defender was a member of the Darfur Bar Association and was part of a group of lawyers who filed cases against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, accusing them of horrific attacks on the Krinding camp for internally displaced persons in El Geneina on 16 January 2021 and 28 April 2022.
According to an announcement from the Darfur Bar Association in May 2023, the human rights defenders and lawyers received death threats from militia members prior to their killings.
As a consequence of the armed conflict that broke out in Khartoum, Sudan on 15 April 2023 and the spread of militant groups in Darfur, human rights defenders and activists are in severe danger as a result of their work. Over the past weeks, three human rights defenders Mohammed Ahmed Kudia, Khamis Arabab and Khidir Sulieman Abdelmageed were also killed in El Geneina, West Darfur. Human rights defenders and the population in general are exposed to enormous risks as the warring parts haven’t complied with the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, which they signed on 11 May 2023. This agreement recognises the obligations of both sides under international humanitarian and human rights law to facilitate humanitarian action to meet the emergency needs of civilians.
Front Line Defenders condemns the killing of human rights defenders Abe Elrazeg Adam Mohammed, Tareg Hassan Yagoub Elmalik and El Sadeeg Ahmmed Haroun as it believes they were killed as a result of having witnessed the outbreak of a violent clash between the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group and Sudanese military forces while they were carrying out their human rights work in West Darfur. Front Line Defenders is concerned about the escalation of violence in West Darfur, and the dangerous context in which human rights defenders and civilians find themselves.
Front Line Defenders urges the de facto authorities in Sudan to:
- Immediately carry out an impartial and independent investigation into the murder of human rights defenders Abd Elrazeg Adam Mohammed, Tareg Hassan Yagoub Elmalik and El Sadeg Mohammed Ahmed Haroun;
- Fully implement the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, signed by the warring parties;
- Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Sudan are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
