HUDO Centre No. H.K/UA/05/018
1st November, 2022
URGENT ACTION ARREST OF MR. HAMID RAMADAN BY SAF IN TALODI, SUDAN
On 27th October 2022, Mr. Hamid Ramadan was arrested by SAF from his house in Talodi town. The reason for his arrest is unknown. He has been kept incommunicado and is assumed to be undergoing torture. On 27th October 2022, six (6) armed soldiers dressed in Sudan Armed Force (SAF) uniform arrested Mr. Hamid Ramadan from his house in Talodi town. He was taken to Talodi military base and since then, nobody (lawyer or family member) has been permitted to visit him. This raised fears that he could be undergoing torture. Up to now, the reason behind his arrest is not known. HUDO Centre got reliable information that, the arrest of Mr. Hamid is mostly in relation to a personal dispute with SAF officer. Also, Mr. Hamid was among the people who submitted a statement to the security committee in Talodi locality urging authorities to genuinely protect the residents against armed militias and to arrest the known perpetrators. HUDO Centre is very concerned about the situation of civilians in SK State and calls upon;
· SAF in Talodi to disclose the whereabouts of Mr. Hamid Ramadan.
· SAF in Talodi to allow family and lawyers to visit him.
· Sudan government to end the state of emergency in conflict areas which enables SAF to carry out arrests at will.
· The SAF in Talodi to immediately release Mr. Hamid Ramadan or to transfer him to the courts of law if there is a genuine case against him.
· The SAF and authorities in South Kordufan State/ Nuba Mountains to investigate the circumstances around Mr. Hamid’s arrest by SAF Talodi and to make the findings public.
HUDO Centre More information
Talodi is the capital city in Talodi locality of South Kordufan State/ Nuba Mountains. Mr. Hamid Ramadan (45 years old) is self employer and a retired SAF soldier. He is one of the active youth in Talodi community/residents. Mr. Hamid together with other youth in Talodi had submitted a statement to Talodi locality security committee (SAF was represented in the security committee) urging security organs to effectively do their protection role to residents of Talodi from Hawazma/ nomad militias. The militias conducted many incidents and no one was arrested, for instance; the murder of Mr. Abass Eleri and Mr. Ahmed Abu-Selaib (Nuba herdsmen) who were killed on 28th May 2022 by known two members of the militia (one of them by name Ahmed Jafaar). But, no one was arrested yet their whereabouts are known. Hawazma/ nomad militias caused insecurity around Talodi for more than two years in form of armed robberies, looting and killing of civilians. SAF in Talodi usually arrests, tortures civilians and confiscates their things, for example; On 5th July 2022, Mr. Mohammed Hussein together with two others was arrested by SAF in Talodi. They were held incommunicado at Talodi military base up to 14th July 2022 the day of their release. However, all their money was confiscated. According to SAF interrogation, they were arrested because they were coming from SPLA-N area. The affected rights: Personal Freedom
· Article 46 of Sudan Transition Constitutional Document 2019
· Article 9 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights