Sudan: Death sentence for lawyer Aboubakr Mansour and arrest of his lawyer Aboubakr Al-Mahi
8 October 2025
The OIAD is deeply concerned about the death sentence handed down to lawyer Aboubakr Mansour Abdela and the arrest of his colleague and defence team member, Aboubakr Al-Mahi.
Aboubakr Mansour is well known in Sudan for his longstanding commitment to human rights. After the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan in April 2023, Mansour provided humanitarian aid to the population, including distributing free medicines. On 25 November 2024, he was brutalised in front of his family, abducted and then transferred to military detention facilities. He was subsequently transferred to Sennar, where he was subjected to prolonged interrogation.
Committed to opposing the war, Mr Mansour was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined ten million Sudanese pounds in April 2025 by the Senga Criminal Court. He was accused of ‘collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) despite evidence proving his innocence.
On 5 October 2025, the Senga Criminal Court sentenced Mr Mansour to death by hanging, in clear violation of the guarantees of a fair trial. The verdict was handed down without prior notification to the defence and without the defence being given the opportunity to attend the hearing or present the necessary evidence.
His lawyer, Aboubakr Al-Mahi, was subsequently arrested.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Sudanese lawyers have been particularly targeted by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. Several members of the Darfur Bar Association have been killed in recent months, while other defenders, such as Montaser Abdullah, have been sentenced or threatened with death.
Sudanese lawyers are direct victims of the general repressive trend against the legal profession and civil society, which is contrary to Sudan’s international commitments.
Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, said she was ‘deeply alarmed’ by these violations, denouncing the systematic intimidation of defenders in Sudan and calling for immediate redress.
The Observatory demands the immediate cancellation of the death sentence against Mr Aboubakr Mansour.
The Observatory calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Aboubakr Al-Mahi and Mr Aboubakr Mansour, both of whom are being prosecuted for practising their profession as lawyers.
The Observatory reminds the Sudanese State of its obligations under international law, in particular under the following provisions:
- The United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyersas a whole.
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR), which states in Article 6§1 that “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”
- Article 9§1 of theICCPR : “Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.”
- African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,Article 4 of which states that “Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right.”
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