Arbitrary detention of human rights defender Dr Attiya Abdallah

On 30 August 2026, the General Intelligence Service, Sudan's military intelligence, reportedly arrested human rights defender Dr Attiya Abdallah in Al-Gadareif State while he was conducting a routine field survey on the visceral leishmaniasis disease (Kala-azar), before transferring him to Khartoum on 31 August 2026 where he remains in detention in an unknown location.

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Dr Attiya Abdallah is a Sudanese human rights defender and doctor. He serves as General Secretary of the Preliminary Committee of the Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union, through which he advocates for the rights and protection of medical professionals in Sudan. He is also Head of an initiative seeking to combat the visceral leishmaniasis disease (Kala-azar) through conducting infectious disease fieldwork and raising public health awareness, particularly among communities affected by the ongoing conflict in the eastern region of Sudan.

On 30 August 2026, Dr Attiya Abdallah was reportedly arrested by the General Intelligence Service in Al-Qadarif city while participating in a routine infectious disease field survey on Kala-azar in Al-Gadareif State. The survey was reportedly conducted in cooperation with the Regional Institute for Endemic Diseases and the University of Al-Gadareif.

Following his arrest, Dr Attiya Abdallah was reportedly transferred from Al-Gadareif to Khartoum on 31 August 2026. To date, the authorities have neither disclosed the reasons for his detention nor provided information on his location nor any charges against him. He has not been able to access a lawyer or see his family.

On 30 August 2026, the Preliminary Committee of the Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union called for the immediate release of Dr Attiya Abdallah and stated that the authorities are responsible for his safety and well-being. The Committee has also coordinated with other professional bodies and called on international organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to intervene to secure his release and ensure his safety. The Sudanese Democratic Lawyers’ Front has similarly called for his place of detention to be disclosed, access to his family and lawyer to be ensured, and guarantees against torture, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance.

The detention of Dr Attiya Abdallah takes place amidst a broader pattern of arrests, harassment and other restrictions against medical professionals, human rights defenders and humanitarian workers in Sudan since the outbreak of the armed conflict in April 2023. Healthcare workers and professional associations have continued to operate in extremely difficult circumstances, providing essential services to the population while advocating for the protection of healthcare workers and the right to access healthcare.

Front Line Defenders is concerned that the detention of Dr Attiya Abdallah may be directly related to his legitimate and peaceful activities in defence of human rights, in particular his work promoting the right to health, protecting healthcare workers and representing medical professionals through the Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union. Front Line Defenders is further concerned by the lack of information regarding the legal basis for his detention and his current circumstances. Front Line Defenders reiterates the responsibility of the authorities in Sudan for ensuring Dr Attiya Abdallah’s physical and psychological integrity.

Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Sudan to:

1. Immediately and unconditionally release Dr Attiya Abdallah, given that his detention seems to be directly related to his legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights;
2. Immediately disclose the legal and factual basis for Dr Attiya Abdallah’s detention, any charges brought against him and his current place of detention;
3. Ensure that Dr Attiya Abdallah has immediate and unfettered access to his family and a lawyer of his choice, and that his treatment while in detention complies with international standards for the protection of persons deprived of their liberty;
4. Ensure that Dr Attiya Abdallah is protected from torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearance and any other form of violation of his physical and psychological integrity;
5. Guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders in Sudan are able to carry out their legitimate and peaceful human rights activities without fear of reprisals, arbitrary arrest and detention or other restrictions.