Sudan: Information regarding the Bar Association and treatment of judges and lawyers after the military coup d'etat in June 1989
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SDN5286 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sudan: Information regarding the Bar Association and treatment of judges and lawyers after the military coup d'etat in June 1989, 1 May 1990, SDN5286, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab5950.html [accessed 20 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Following the military coup d'etat in June 1989, a group of professional associations and trade unions submitted a memorandum to the government on 1 July 1989. [
FootnoteS:
"Sudan: The June Coup d'Etat: Fifty Days On", Africa Watch, Washington: Human Rights Watch, 22 August 1989, p.1. ] Among the eight signatories were representatives of the Sudanese Bar Association and the Association of Lagal Advisors in the Attorney-General's Chambers, the government's legal advisors. The memorandum "protested the dissolution of trade unions and professional associations, the closure of unions and centres...and the freezing of bank accounts belonging to trade unions" and called for the ban on non-religious association to be lifted. [ Ibid.]
The government responded by imprisoning prominent signatories of the memorandum, including Abdullah al-Hassan, president of the Bar Association and three members of the executive committee. [ Ibid. p.3-4.]
Africa Watch further states that the new military government reportedly dismissed fifty-one judges who had objected to the human rights violations by the special military tribunals and, in addition, detained lawyers. [ "Sudan: Destruction of the Independent Judiciary: Military Government Clamps Down on Press Freedom", Africa Watch, Washington: Human Rights Watch, 25 September 1989, pp.1-2. ] The dismissal of the judges was reportedly in reaction to a strike by judges on 21 August 1989. [ Ibid. p.2.]
In another memorandum submitted to the military government on 25 August 1989, judges argued that "the tribunals could not be said to be independent, as they were chaired by military officers". [ Ibid.] Consequently more judges were dismissed "either publicly in small numbers every few days, or individually and privately". Legal advisors to the government were reportedly dismissed or themselves resigned before being dismissed. [ Ibid.]
The references cited above are available in the Toronto IRB Documentation Centre.
