Why Sudan junta issued a red notice to an opposition figure in Nairobi
Yasir Arman, chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Democratic Revolutionary Current (SPLM-DRC).
A Sudanese opposition figure has been detained and then released in Nairobi on an Interpol Red Notice that he says is politically motivated.
Yasir Arman, chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Democratic Revolutionary Current (SPLM-DRC), had arrived in Nairobi for a meeting on Wednesday when he was arrested and later taken to Interpol headquarters, which had received a red notice from Sudan's military government.
In Nairobi, he says he protested his innocence, accusing the Sudanese junta of politically targeting those who refuse to side with it.
“I told the Interpol authorities that my case is purely political. I was in contact with some Kenyan officials and friends and I was allowed to go to a hotel around 9pm,” Armani said in a statement on Thursday.
“I was asked to report back to Interpol when I was notified, and they took my documents.”
On Thursday morning, Armani said he received a call from Kenyan officials asking him to pick up his documents.
Armani is one of the leaders of the ‘Taqaddum’ coalition, a civil movement led by former transitional Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok who was ousted from power in October 2021.
Preaching neutrality in the conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, Taqaddum had tried to push for a neutral political solution involving all warring sides and stakeholders. However, it splintered in February when one side backed the Rapid Support Forces forming what was launched in Nairobi as the Sudan Foundation Alliance.
The other half of Taqaddum created a coalition known as the Democratic Civilian Coalition for the Revolutionary Forces (Samoud), which promised to a new political vision and roadmap to end the ongoing war in Sudan.
For its part, the alliance announced a controversial political charter, which was originally intended to form a parallel government in Sudan.
The SPLM-DRC said on Thursday that it did not support the RSF alliance and would remain in Samoud. However, the party protested that the red notice against Arman was issued by the junta, which is now based in Port Sudan. Ahead of his trip, the Sudanese military government issued a notice to the Interpol General Directorate for the "Extradition of Yassir Saeed Arman Saeed", signed by Kamal Mahgoub Ahmed Saeed, originally in Arabic but with an English annex translated by the University of Khartoum.
In the warrant, the plaintiff, Dr Hisham Nourain Mohamed Nour, acting on behalf of the Sudanese Attorney-General, cited several articles of the charges against Arman, ranging from terrorism, sedition, incitement and crimes against the state, and demanded his extradition to Port Sudan.
Armani is a divisive figure in Sudan and has previously been the subject of Interpol red notices and death threats. A former deputy secretary-general of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)-North, he has dismissed the charges of violating international humanitarian law and Sudanese law as mere fabrications.
He said the junta, led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had in fact violated more laws by shielding former leader Omar al-Bashir from war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court.
“Ironically, all the accusations levelled against me are tailored to suit the guys in Port Sudan,” argued Armani.
“Instead, the names of pro-democracy forces are on the INTERPOL list. We will work to have them removed so that others do not have a similar experience.”
