Sudanese-Australian activist Nazik Osman has called for a senior Sudanese government minister to be banned from Australia after he allegedly threatened her during a visit to Perth for a mining conference.
Sudan's Minerals Minister Mohamed Bashir Abunammu was recorded making the alleged threat in Sudanese Arabic on September 1 after being confronted by Ms Osman outside the Africa Down Under conference.
Ms Osman was broadcasting the encounter live on Facebook.
The video shows her approaching the Sudanese government delegation while loudly denouncing the "criminal regime".
She shouts that the country's leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, should be taken to the International Criminal Court and calls the minister corrupt and a criminal.
Mr Abunammu responds: "If you weren't here, we would beat you until you begged us to stop."
The Sudanese embassy in Canberra has not responded to the ABC's request for comment.
The ABC also attempted to contact the Sudanese government.
Ms Osman said she had been protesting the "exploitation of Sudanese gold and other minerals".
"We know that these deals they make to buy weapons and to buy bullets to kill the Sudanese people," she said.
"It doesn't go to improve people's lives or to build the country, it goes to the militias."
She said she had made complaints to both the Australian Federal Police and Western Australia Police.
Mr Abunammu should be banned from ever re-entering Australia, she said.
"I see [the threat] as a violation of the sovereignty of my country when a foreign official comes and threatens me as a citizen," she said.
"He shouldn't be allowed to come to Australia … if he's not respecting the citizens, and if he's not respecting the values of this country, he shouldn't be allowed to enter."
The AFP told the ABC in a statement it was aware of the matter but would not be making any further comment.
Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts attended the conference and met with ministers from African countries including Mr Abunammu.
He said violence and intimidation had "no place in Australia" and the government took seriously any threats made by a foreign official or representative towards any Australian citizen.
"Under Australian law, any threats could constitute an illegal offence and should be directed to the police," he said.
"During a brief meeting with Minister Basheer Abdalla while in Perth, I emphasised the importance of a return to a civilian-led government in Sudan, which would bring much-needed stability."
In 2019, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown after almost 30 years in power and replaced by a "transitional" coalition government of military and civilian figures.
That lasted until last October, when the military took complete control, triggering rolling demonstrations in the capital Khartoum.
The International Service for Human Rights said in March that Sudanese security forces had used "rape and sexual violence as a weapon to silence women protesters".
Dominic Piper, the editor of Paydirt Media which organises the Africa Down Under conference, said he was not aware of the incident.
"As an organisation, we don't condone any threatening or derogatory behaviour," he told the ABC.
He said his organisation would liaise with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade if the Sudanese government requested to participate again next year.
Threat triggered past trauma
Before fleeing Sudan with her family in 2001, Ms Osman was a lawyer and activist supporting women's rights and advocating on behalf of victims of domestic violence.
She said her family had experienced routine police raids on their home, imprisonment, torture and family separation, and her husband was captured and tortured by Sudanese authorities before he escaped the country.
They still receive threats in Australia because of their activism, despite not visiting Sudan since they left, she said.
She added the minister's threat had re-traumatised her.
"I come here to this country, and I [am] supposed to feel safe, and I [am] supposed to feel my rights to protest are protected," she said.
Amnesty International Australia told the ABC it had written to the Australian Federal Police "impressing upon them the gravity of the situation".
Ms Osman's husband was at one point designated an "international prisoner of conscience" by the human rights organisation while he was being held by the government in Sudan.
A spokesperson said Amnesty had called on the AFP and government ministers involved in the conference to investigate the matter and ensure the family's safety.
"Visitors must commit to upholding Australian laws when granted a visa," the spokesperson said.
"Making a direct threat upon someone's safety, as appears to have happened in this instance, would seem in direct contravention of that obligation and should be investigated by the appropriate authorities."
Ms Osman said she had never before spoken publicly about her experiences in Sudan but she couldn't stay quiet anymore.
"I just do not want to see this happening again, to any Australian citizens from any other backgrounds protesting in their country," she said.
