Al-Waleed Imam Hasan Taha
Al-Waleed Imam Hasan Taha is a Sudanese accountant working in Saudi Arabia. Prior to arriving in Saudi Arabia, the human rights defender was a founding member of a group called Abna’ Al-Sahafa or “Citizens of Al-Sahafa” in Khartoum. The group is currently providing assistance and basic services to Sudanese people in need. Following his departure from Sudan, the human rights defender remained actively working with this group. From Saudi Arabia, he provided logistic and financial support for those in need of medicine and medical treatment following a crippling rise in medicine prices in Sudan. The human rights defender has also been active in calling for the rights of Sudanese people through social media in response to the atrocities committed by the Sudanese authorities in the latest phase of civil disobedience.
Human rights defenders, activists and individuals who criticise government policies or express dissent or diverging opinion to those of the authorities are subjected to harassment, surveillance, arbitrary detention, smear campaigns, prolonged and unfair trials. Family members of HRDs are also targeted and subjected to intimidation and harassment at the hands of the authorities.
New anti-terrorism legislation enacted in 2014 has been used to target human rights defenders and government critics. Some received harsh sentences by an anti-terrorism court, including lenghty prison terms. The government targeted online activists and family members who reported on human rights violations. Due process and fair trial rights are often not respected. Defendants are commonly sentenced to floggings of hundreds of lashes.
