'My own mother asked me, "Why are you defending Christians? You are not Christian". But someone had to do it; I had to take the risk.'
Mohaned Elnour is CSW’s Sudan Specialist. He worked for many years as a human rights lawyer in Sudan — including on the high- profile case of Meriam Ibrahim, a Christian whose death sentence was overturned in 2014. Now based in the UK, he continues to speak out against the war in Sudan.
Tell us about where you grew up. How did that shape how you see Sudan?
I couldn’t be luckier. I was born in central Sudan, my father is from western Sudan and my mother from the north. So I feel like I represent many parts of Sudan, and this gives me the opportunity to see the nation with different eyes than those who grew up in a certain place and never left it.
I went to primary school in western Sudan, and later we moved to the capital, Khartoum, where there was better education and a better health system.
I was also lucky to be in the neighbourhood we lived in. Everyone was so close to each other, helping each other and standing with each other. It was very diverse.
Why did you decide to become a lawyer, and what drew you into human rights work?
I always wanted to be a lawyer from a very young age. I even wanted to be the General Secretary of the UN! Seeing the injustices towards some of my classmates and friends who were from South Sudan or from different backgrounds stayed with me.
As soon as I graduated from university, I joined a legal aid centre. We worked in many states, especially focusing on women and children. Through this work, my eyes were opened more and more to the injustices faced by specific communities, especially Christians. I felt that something should be done.
Why did you choose to defend Christians and other religious minorities?
In a strange way, I felt embarrassed to not be more aware of what so many people were going through. I felt compelled to do something. It wasn’t popular. My own mother asked me, ‘Why are you defending Christians? You are not Christian.’ But someone had to do it; I had to take the risk.
Anyone who spoke out was treated as a spy for the West, and Christianity was always linked with the West — even though the very oldest kingdom in Sudan was actually a Christian kingdom.
It was very dangerous. I was questioned often by the police. But justice cannot be selective. If you only defend some people and not others, then it is not justice.
What was it like to do this work under the Bashir regime?
It was very, very difficult. During Bashir’s time, if you even said the words ‘human rights’, it was enough reason to be arrested or detained. Some people I know were in prison for many years, in what we call the ‘ghost houses’.
I remember being arrested when we tried to stop the demolition of a church. Even though we had a court decision, the police just did it anyway.
In the end, I had to leave the country. My own house was demolished, just like many churches. I went through a very difficult time. I left my home, my office, my family – everything.
What helped you to keep going when the risks were so high?
I never worked alone. I always surrounded myself with many other lawyers and human rights defenders. That was like a shield. It protected me, and it allowed the work to continue. We have to work together. Legal work alone is not enough, and advocacy alone is not enough. You need both. When organisations outside Sudan spoke out, it made a difference inside Sudan.
When someone speaks loudly here, it can make a difference there.
Where do you find hope today?
We have never lost it. Even as we see atrocities being committed in the current conflict, we are resilient. We believe the war will stop – today or tomorrow – because it cannot continue forever. The moment the war stops, Sudanese people will rise again.
Speak out
What do the war in Sudan and Manchester City Football Club have in common? Find out and start speaking out: csw.org.uk/EyesOnSudan