African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies ACJPS | المركز الافريقي لدراسات العدالة و السلام
(13 September 2011) On 2 September, well-known Sudanese intellectual and activist Abdelmoniem Raham was arrested in Damazein, the capital city of Blue Nile state. His whereabouts are currently unknown. An active member of the Sudanese Writers Union during the 1980s and head of the Arabic section of the Sudan Radio Services network in Nairobi from 2003 to 2005, Raham’s arrest and subsequent detention represents a clear example of the restrictions placed on activists amidst closing political space in Sudan.
Raham’s arrest occurred in the context of fighting in Blue Nile state between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N), President Bashir’s subsequent declaration of a state of emergency in Blue Nile, the dismissal of the pro-SPLM-N governor of the state, Malik Agar, and his replacement with a SAF military commander. The Government of Sudan has since banned the SPLM-N from operating in Sudan and arrested many of its members.
Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, Raham returned to Khartoum from exile and became active in several Sudanese arts and cultural initiatives. Most recently in 2010, he served as a government advisor for cultural affairs in Blue Nile state. Raham was the founder and chairperson of Sudana, an organization devoted to promoting the indigenous arts and literature of marginalized communities in the peripheries of Sudan. An active member of Sudan’s journalist community, he was both a co-founder and administrative director of Ajrass Alhurriya (Bells of Freedom) newspaper, which was closed on 8 July by government authorities, along with several other newspapers.
Throughout his long engagement in Sudanese public affairs, Raham has been known as a poet, artist, literature critic, and civil rights activist. Born in Alhasahisa in Central Sudan in 1953, he studied arts and graduated from the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University (Khartoum Branch) in 1979. Raham is married with four children.
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) calls for the immediate release of Abdelmoniem Raham. The 2010 National Security Act allows security officials to detain suspects for up to four and a half months without judicial review, before charges must be levied. ACJPS is concerned that this provides the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) with a free hand to detain activists without the burden of justification. This and other repressive laws such as the 2009 Press and Publications Act must be reformed to align with international human rights standards. Mechanisms must be put in place to ensure that the human rights guarantees of the Interim National Constitution and other gains made during the interim period are not lost.
