Former chief of spy in the country, Lt Gen Salah Abdalla, known as Salah Gosh, has been officially banned from entering the United States of America.
A statement from the United States Department of the State said America has designated Salah Abdalla Mohamed Mohamed Salih, known as Salah Gosh, the former Director General of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), under Section 7031(c) of the FY 2019 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (Div. F, P.L. 116-6), due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights.
This means the former head of intelligence and the strong allay of the United State central intelligence agency (CIA) can no longer enter the USA or take refuge there. It also put an end to speculations that he was being prepared to play a major role in Sudan’s future political life.
The release added that the decision was taken as the US concerned authorities “Specifically, the Department has credible information that Salah Gosh was involved in torture during his tenure as head of NISS.”
It argued that Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.
According to the statement the law also requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their immediate family members.
“In accordance with the law, I am also publicly designating his spouse, Awatif Ahmed Seed Ahmed Mohamed, as well as his daughter, Shima Salah Abdallah Mohamed.” Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State said in the statement.
The Secretary of the State added that the designation of Salah Gosh and his family underscores American support for accountability for those involved in gross violations of human rights.
“We join the Sudanese people in their call for a transitional government that is truly civilian led and differs fundamentally from the Bashir regime, particularly on the protection of human rights. We make this announcement today in support of an effort by the Sudanese people to place the Bashir regime, with its long record of human rights violations and abuses by Gosh and other officials, in the past for good.” It concluded.
The shadowy head of the NISS was little known in public until recently. He was head of the security during the years that witnessed the cooperation between the Sudan and the USA to do away with such hard-line and terrorist groups, including that of Bin laden. The Americans were also recognisant of his contribution and assistance for the American to put in the bid several terrorist groups.
Ironically it was also known that Gosh was one of the leading generals that prevented bloody crushing of the popular uprising that dethroned former President Omar Bashir. Some observers speculated that he was only settling scores with Islamists in the Sudan for his humiliating kick out from office, 2004-2009. He was then accused by Islamists of involvement in a coup against his Bashir.
However, Bashir, again under threats from the Islamists reinstated Gosh as NISS chief with wider powers, in 2018. But under his tenure the NISS infamous ghost houses flourished where stories of unbelievable torture and human right violations were being hushed and were talked about publicly only in recent months.
