Kramer Levin Obtains Asylum For Sudanese Student Activist Who Fled Torture and Likely Execution

Erin Oshiro and Seema Saifee, with the supervision of Michael Sternhell and the assistance of Aaron Frankel, have obtained asylum for a student activist from Darfur, Sudan. After our client issued a political statement condemning the Sudanese government’s genocide in Darfur, the special security forces of the Sudanese government arrested, detained, and tortured him for 17 days. Our client was released only after he was forced to sign a list of conditions requiring him to abandon his political beliefs and betray his tribe. Upon his release, our client fled his hometown and, after learning that security forces had detained his entire family, he fled to Egypt. During his two years in Egypt, our client continued to be arrested, detained, and beaten by Sudanese agents, and he eventually fled to the United States. Our client faced re-arrest, torture, and execution if returned to Sudan because of the prevalent persecution of known and suspected opponents of the government, and because of his membership in the Zaghawa tribe, an ethnic group that is systematically persecuted by the Sudanese government. After the Kramer Levin team made a substantial submission on country conditions in Egypt, the government stipulated that our client had not firmly resettled there. Immigration Judge Dorothy Harbeck agreed and granted asylum to our client after specifically finding his testimony to be credible. The case was referred by Human Rights First.