HUDO Centre Date: 26th April 2024 No.: H.K/UA/04/024 URGENT APPEAL SAF ARRESTED ABDELHAKAM YOUSIF IN DAMAZIN, SUDAN On 8th April 2024, the Sudan Armed Force (SAF) arrested Mr. Abdelhakam Yousif accusing him of communicating with leaders of SPLA-N (Elhelo’s faction). Following day, he was taken to police where a case of waging war against the state was opened against him, and later released on bail. On 21st April 2024, he was arrested again by SAF and held incommunicado. On 8th April 2024, Mr. Abdelhakam Yousif was arrested by a group of Sudan Armed Force/ Military Intelligence (SAF/MI) from his office at the Ministry of Finance in Damazin town. He was arrested soon after his arrival from Asosa town of Ethiopia where he had gone for a visit. He was taken to SAF premises in Damazin where his phones were confiscated, and he was interrogated and detained for one night. The following day (9th April 2024) he was transferred to Police and a case was filed against him. The case was filed under articles 21, 51 and 55 of Sudan Criminal Penal 1991. Thereafter, he was released on bail but his phones which were confiscated by SAF/MI were not given back to him. According to the interrogation by military, they concluded that Mr. Abdelhakam Yousif had briefly met with an officer of Sudan People Liberation Army – North (Elhelo’s faction) during his visit to Asosa Ethiopia. On 21st April 2024, Mr. Abdelhakam was arrested again by SAF/ MI and since then he has been held incommunicado. A lawyer from Blue Nile commented that, “it clearly appears that the filed case is a malicious act by the SAF manifested by; first, no other defendant yet they accused him by article 21, secondly the accusation’s articles are within war against state which according to the criminal procedure law (article 106-1) are prohibiting the release on bail since the sentence (punishment) is death yet they allowed to release him on bail. Now they have re-arrested him which shows their intention since his phones remained confiscated, and I believe the re-arrest came because there is no evidence in his confiscated phone to support their accusations at police. Lastly, how can Mr. Abdelhakam be legally arrested by the complainant yet they have a case against him at the prosecutor hands”.