“The External Action Service of the EU Parliament approved the findings and told us that these people are in fact directly connected to the RSF,” German independent MEP Lukas Sieper said.
Despite the cancellation of the event in the European Parliament, Dogus arranged for it to take place at an alternate venue in Brussels, one person involved told POLITICO.
Dogus said the event was rearranged at short notice in the absence of any evidence of the pair’s RSF connection.
Dogus is a Labour councillor for the London borough of Lambeth and is well-known in London political circles as the organizer of the British Kebab Awards, an annual event attended by numerous prominent Westminster figures.
Gamaal El Attar, executive director of the International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD), a Belgium-based human rights group, described it as “deeply troubling” that the Labour Party conference could host figures associated with the RSF.
“The RSF is directly implicated in genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and widespread gender-based violence,” he added. “Offering these individuals a platform risks whitewashing atrocities and undermines the Labour Party’s moral credibility.”