The arrest of a volunteer sparks outrage in El Gedaref

The Sudanese Armed Forces’ act of arresting the volunteer, Alaa El-Din El-Sharif in the eastern city of El-Gedaref has ignited a wave of widespread outrage and concerns for his safety, after he was detained for several days without being allowed to meet with his lawyer or family.

According to Saleh Ammar, the official spokesperson for the Civil Forces Alliance in Eastern Sudan, the arrest comes as part of a security campaign that has been ongoing for the fourth consecutive week, targeting activists in the state.

Ammar stated that the authorities arrested Alaa El-Din El-Sharif without providing clear legal justification and have further prevented his family and lawyer from contacting him. He noted that the charges against him remain unknown since his detention in mid-January.

Ammar called on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to uphold its responsibility to protect humanitarian workers, political activists, and civilians, warning against their targeting by groups with political agendas.

He indicated that the state of El-Gedaref has been witnessing, as he described it, a “fierce security crackdown” in recent weeks, calling for action against elements of the former regime within the Security and Military apparatus who, according to the speaker, are seeking to settle political scores with volunteers and party cadres.

At the end of last year, authorities carried out arrest campaigns targeting activists in Resistance Committees ahead of the anniversary of the December Revolution, in addition to imposing strict security measures in neighborhoods and markets in an effort to thwart any attempts at peaceful demonstrations.

The aforementioned developments came at a time when the country is witnessing an escalation in arrests of activists based on social media posts, as such activities have become grounds for legal prosecution and trials under the current wartime conditions.