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Amnesty calls for probe against Sudan’s former top spy
BEIRUT, April 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Sudan’s new authorities must investigate
the role of the country’s former spy chief in killings of demonstrators
during months-long protests that preceded the fall of president Omar-al-
Bashir, Amnesty International said.
Salih Ghosh — the head of Sudan’s feared National Intelligence and
Security Service (NISS) and a regime insider — resigned his post on
Saturday, two days after al-Bashir was deposed in a palace coup.
He had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against
protesters.
“It is crucial that Sudan’s new authorities investigate Salih Ghosh’s role
in the killings of scores of Sudanese protesters over the past four months,”
Amnesty said in a statement on Saturday.
Initial protests against Bashir’s regime erupted in mid-December, when the
government announced a tripling of bread prices.
The rights group said “allegations of torture, arbitrary detention and
other human rights violations under” Ghosh’s supervision of the intelligence
service should also be investigated.
Bashir had appointed Ghosh as NISS chief in February 2018 for his second
stint in the post, after a first tenure ended in August 2009.
Ghosh had worked on and off for NISS ever since the 1989 coup that brought
Bashir to power, according to Sudanese media.
He was credited with building the organisation into one of the most
important pillars of Bashir’s regime before his dismissal a decade ago.
He was later jailed on accusations of plotting a coup but no evidence was
found against him and Bashir pardoned him.
Over the years NISS has overseen repeated crackdowns on government
opponents and the media.
Its agents frequently confiscated the entire print-runs of newspapers that
criticised government policy or reported on protests.
“The new authorities in Sudan must address past human rights violations
and undertake desperately needed reforms to ensure that there can be no
repeat of the heinous crimes,” Amnesty said.
BSS/AFP/RY/1625 hrs