Sudanese activist detained for seven months without trial

Hisham Ali, the Sudanese activist who was held in Saudi Arabia last year and deported to Khartoum nearly seven months ago, is still awaiting trial.

Hisham Ali (aka Wad Galiba) was detained in Saudi Arabia, where he lived, at the request of the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in November 2017.

On March 29, he was extradited to Sudan, and being held incommunicado for months. 

Two months ago, Hisham was referred to the State Security Prosecution that lodged a complaint against him on charges including crimes against the state – which may carry the death penalty if convicted.

Hisham Ali has worked as a freelance accountant in Saudi Arabia since 2010. He took to online platforms in 2013 to expose government corruption. On his Facebook page, he wrote on torture in Sudanese detention centres and expressed his support of the civil disobedience actions in Sudan in end 2016.

Amnesty International called for his immediate and unconditional release on June 1. His relatives said in a statement in July that Ali was transferred to a hospital in Khartoum after having been tortured. They are holding the NISS “fully responsible” for his health.

In mid October, a group of women activists carried out a protest in front of the office of the Human Rights Commission in Khartoum demanding “an end to the torture of student Asim Omar and activist Hisham Ali”.