Urgent Action Victory! Student Held in Solitary Confinement Released (Sudan: UA 203.17)

Naser Aldeen Mukhtar Mohamed, the former chairperson of the Darfur Students Association at the Holy Quran University, was released without charge on 28 January. He was arrested on 22 August 2017 and detained in solitary confinement at the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) detention centre.

Naser Aldeen Mukhtar Mohamed, the former chairperson of the Darfur Students Association at the Holy Quran University, was released without charge on 28 January. He was arrested on 22 August 2017 and detained in solitary confinement at the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) detention centre. Naser Aldeen Mukhtar Mohamed, was released without charge from an NISS detention centre on 28 January. The 23 year old, former chairperson of the Darfur Students Association at the Holy Quran University was arrested on 22 August 2017 by NISS agents. He was stopped at the university gate by five plainclothes NISS agents who forced him into a Toyota pickup truck without a number plate and drove off with him. While in NISS custody, Naser Aldeen Mukhtar Mohamed was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment during his detention. He was beaten kicked and whipped with electric cables for more than five hours during his first day of detention. When taken for interrogation, he was usually blindfolded, his hands cuffed and his feet shackled. During interrogation, he says he was threatened with death and rape, as well as being subjected to ethnic insults. He was repeatedly questioned about his activism with the Darfur Students’ Association. Naser Aldeen Mukhtar Mohamed was detained in solitary confinement for more than five months at NISS detention centre. While in detention, he was allowed to meet his family on two occasions but was never granted access to his lawyers. Amnesty International considered him to be a prisoner of conscience as he was held solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. Naser Aldeen Mukhtar Mohamed is one of the most active members of the Darfur Students’ Association in Khartoum and as a result has been targeted by the NISS in the past. Previously, he was arrested on 14 November 2015 after leading a peaceful sit-in at the Holy Quran University in protest against the university’s decision to suspend the exemption of Darfuri students from tuition fees payment. He was released on 23 December 2015. Since his release in January 2018, he has been under surveillance and even threatened with re-arrest by NISS agents. We will continue to monitor his case. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES READ THE FULL URGENT ACTION: Word or PDF GET INSPIRED: Read about the people you have helped READ TIPS for writing effective letters and emails CONTACT US: [email protected]