The Sudanese Embassy in Kampala, Uganda, has come under fire for refusing to renew the passport of Hanan Hassan Khalifa, an acclaimed female Sudanese human rights defender and lawyer.
She has advocated for prisoners’ rights, freedom of political expression, and against violations of the 2005 Interim Constitution.
The decision, reportedly based on a directive by the Sudan’s Public Prosecution Office in Port Sudan in the Red Sea State where the government relocated after war intensified in and around the capital Khartoum, has raised numerous questions regarding its legality.
The right to movement is enshrined in constitutions and international laws, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
A member of the Emergency Lawyers, Nafisa Ahmed, told Radio Tamazuj that the decision lacks a strong legal basis and could be considered invalid.
“International and local laws affirm the right of individuals to obtain travel documents, and a passport is a personal document that cannot be denied to anyone,” she said. “Despite this, the Sudanese Embassy based its decision on an order from the Port Sudan Prosecution, which prevented Hanan Hassan from being issued a passport.”
Ahmed added” “According to the Law of Advocacy, if there is a desire to file a complaint against a lawyer, permission must first be obtained from the Bar Association, followed by an investigation with the concerned lawyer.”
That procedure, she noted, was not followed, and the Public Prosecution does not have the authority to issue or deny passports, as it is the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent authorities.
Ahmed further explained that the Public Prosecution can issue a travel ban based on an open complaint, but preventing the issuance of a passport exceeds its powers.
It is believed that the open complaint against Hanan Hassan was purely political, given her membership in the Coordinating Body of Civil Democratic Forces, also known as Tagadum, which the establishment believes is the political wing of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
She viewed the decision as a reflection of the legal and political chaos in Sudan, raising further concerns about the respect for citizens’ fundamental rights.
The Sudanese Congress Party condemned the action against Khalifa, a member of the party’s legal sector, and described the decision as unjust and contrary to local and international laws and systems, stating that it was issued by an illegitimate and incompetent government.
The Congress Party considers the move a part of the systematic targeting of its cadres and all activists of the December Revolution to eliminate and eradicate them through the mechanisms of the ongoing war which erupted on 15 April 2023. The party affirmed that it would oppose the decision through legal means and reiterated that it does not support any of the warring parties, regardless of the threats.
Meanwhile, Bakri El-Jack, the official Tagadum spokesman, told this publication that using identification documents, which are a fundamental right for every Sudanese regardless of their political beliefs and visions, in political vendettas, has a severe impact on the concept of equal citizenship.
“What happened to lawyer Hanan and what could happen to others is the state’s apparatus being used to punish and eliminate political opponents, further complicating the country’s reality and prolonging the severe societal divisions,” he stated.
El-Jack described this approach as similar to the method of the National Congress Party regime during its 30-year rule of Sudan. He called on the Sudanese Embassy in Kampala and the Directorate of Passports, Immigration, and Citizenship to rectify this matter and cease such practices.