UK-Based Religious Entity Calls for Justice for Christian Advocate Attacked in Sudan

“We urge the Sudanese authorities to ensure Mr. Badawi is adequately protected and to afford him medical attention commensurate with his official position,” the CSW official says in the report.

CSW reports that Mr. Badawi who works for the department overseeing religious affairs in Sudan was attacked by armed men in Khartoum on July 2.

“Mr. Badawi was traveling to his home in Khartoum at approximately 11pm when a car with darkened windows blocked his vehicle. Five armed men emerged from the vehicle and pulled Mr. Badawi from the car before proceeding to beat and threaten him,” the organization reports.

The organization further narrates that one assailant pointed a gun at Mr. Badawi’s head and threatened to kill him if he continued to say anything about confiscated properties belonging to churches, or the issues surrounding the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church committees.

Following the attack, Mr. Badawi is said to have sought medical treatment and was discharged pending further investigations.

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The leadership of CSW says with regret that there has been no official statement from the Ministry of Guidance and Endowments on the attack, and that Mr. Badawi was not offered medical treatment commensurate with his official position in the Sudanese government.

The organization reports that Mr. Badawi has issued several posts on social media detailing the government’s delay in resolving historic injustices experienced by the Christian community, including the return of property belonging to churches, the issuing of registration certificates for church properties, and the official recognition of legitimate church committees, which facilitates their management of church affairs.

During the era of Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s seventh President who served from 1989 to April 2019 when he was deposed in a coup d'état, the State used its power to authorize committees that were not constituted according to church procedure to act on behalf of a religious organization.

In this way, the leadership of CSW notes, the State retained significant control over the internal processes of religious organizations and used these committees to further restrict the rights of Christians.

To thwart Mr. Badawi’s endeavors, some leaders have falsely accused him of bribery and bias in his work, CSW reports.

The human rights organization notes that the threats made against Mr. Badawi bear similarities to those made by GIS officers against Osama Saeed Musa Kodi, the president of a Christian youth organization who, the organization reports, was detained in Wad Madani in Gezira State earlier this year.

“Agents reportedly told Mr. Musa Kodi that Christianity is evil and alleged he was trying to brainwash Sudanese citizens,” the leadership of CSW says, and adds in reference to Mr. Kodi, “He was also ordered to stop any efforts to rebuild a church that had been destroyed in an arson attack, and was told that he could be killed if he did not comply.”

The leadership of the organization that works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs, for other religious beliefs or for lack of belief maintains that Mr. Badawi’s attack “must be investigated, and its perpetrators prosecuted, without delay.”

“Additionally, we call for the urgent overhaul of the system governing the authorization of administrative committees during the al Bashir era, the immediate recognition of legitimate church committees, and the return of properties taken from Christian communities to their rightful owners,” CSW says in the July 5 report.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.