Filmmaker’s trial raises fears over freedom in new Sudan
CAIRO >> More than a year after the overthrow of Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir, amid the promise of new leadership, Sudanese film director Hajooj Kuka was arrested during a theater workshop by the security forces that had served al-Bashir for years. He was tried and sentenced to prison on vague charges often used by the former government to enforce its conservative interpretation of religion.
The jarring episode, including alleged beatings by guards, rattled Kuka and other artists and activists, who say that the country has a long way to go before it can overcome the legacy of three decades of autocratic rule under al-Bashir.
Although a higher court overturned the ruling and released Kuka earlier this month, the case has raised concerns about personal freedoms in Sudan. The country has been ruled by a joint civilian-military government for 14 months, after a popular uprising led to the military’s ouster of al-Bashir in April 2019 and put the country on a fragile path to democracy.
“While these rules exist, we will never have a freedom of expression,” Kuka said.
Kuka, who is a member of the film academy that awards the Oscars, was one of a group of young artists taking part in a three- day theater workshop in August when neighbors complained about the noise, and the fact that women and men were mixing at the event. The organizers responded by lowering the volume, but the dispute escalated.
One of the neighbors physically assaulted Duaa Tarig, an artist and office manager for Civic Lab, the
organization hosting the workshop. Other neighbors beat and threw stones at participants and staff. Dozens were trapped for a couple of hours before the police arrived.
When they did, they took 11 artists, including Kuka and Tarig, along with several neighbors, to a police station. The neighbors were quickly released, according to both artists.
The artists, however, were tried and sentenced in m id- S ept emb er to two months in prison on charges of public disturbance and violating public safety measures amid the pandemic.