Front Line is deeply concerned following the closure of the Sudan Social Development Organisation (SUDO) and information on the imminent arrest of Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam is the Chairperson of SUDO and one of the most prominent human rights defenders in Sudan. He was awarded the inaugural Front Line Award in 2005.

On 5 March 2009, SUDO received a notification by the Humanitarian Assistance Committee (HAC) that the organisation had been closed down, and the security forces subsequently surrounded SUDO headquarters. On the same day, Mudawi Ibrahim Adam has been warned of his imminent arrest and advised to leave immediately.

One day earlier, on 4 March 2009, SUDO office in Nyala was raided by the security forces and computers and documents were confiscated. This followed a similar raid against SUDO office in Zalingei. On 3 March 2009, Mudawi Ibrahim Adam was notified of a court case filed against him by HAC for alleged embezzlement of 40,000 USD from SUDO in 2004.

These repeated attacks against Mudawi Ibrahim Adam and SUDO form part of the crackdown by the Sudanese authorities against human rights defenders, following the request by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor of an arrest warrant against the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, in July 2008. The crackdown has intensified in the last few weeks as the decision by the ICC on the request approached. The ICC has issued the arrest warrant against Omar al-Bashir on 4 March 2009.

Earlier today, Front Line issued an urgent appeal on the closure of the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Environmental Developments (KCHRED) and the freezing of its accounts.

Front Line condemns the closure of SUDO and the threats of arrest of Mudawi Ibrahim Adam as solely motivated by their work in the defense of human rights. Front Line is deeply concerned at the escalation of attacks against human rights defenders in Sudan.