Campaigner on human rights ‘stabbed to death for his political views’

Friends of a human rights campaigner found murdered in his London home fear he may have been the victim of a political killing.

Abdelsalam Hassan Abdelsalam, 56, who helped torture victims in Sudan, was found slumped in the hall of his Lewisham flat by a neighbour. He had been slashed across the face and stabbed in the leg, bleeding to death from a severed artery.

Described as a "guiding light" of Sudan's human rights movement, he worked as a lawyer in his home country and was briefly imprisoned until moving to Britain in 1989 following the coup that brought the present government to power.

Detectives today appealed for information about the killing in Boone Street. They say there is no intelligence to suggest the lawyer, who was last seen at 2pm on Friday, was targeted for his politics but could not rule out the possibility.

Mr Abdelsalam also worked for charities Human Rights Watch and Justice Africa, before joining international human rights organisation Redress as Sudan adviser in October 2007. Colleagues at the London-based organisation today said they feared a possible political motive.

Lutz Oette, 43, a project adviser, said: "He was very well known in the field of human rights. Some people think there is a political motive. There have been threats against a number of Sudanese human rights campaigners."

Mr Abdelsalam, who became a British national, was divorced from wife Wafa Hussein, and had a 24-year-old daughter. Ms Hussein said: "Every person who works in this field would be concerned (for their safety). He has always been a devoted defender of social justice and freedom."

Detective Chief Inspector Damian Allain, leading the inquiry, said: "We have a number of lines of inquiry and we believe it is linked locally." Police are examining two burglaries at Mr Abdelsalam's home. Anyone with information is asked to call 020 8721 4805 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.