Incommunicado detention of Hatim Ali Abdalla and police harassment against Khalid Omer Yousif

SDN 001 / 0313 / OBS031

Arbitraryarrest and incommunicado detention /

Fear oftorture and ill-treatment /

Police harassment

Sudan

March 29, 2013

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), requestsyour urgent intervention in the following situation in Sudan.

Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by the African Centre For Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) about the arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of youth activist Mr. Hatim Ali Abdalla and thepolice harassment of Mr. Khalid Omer Yousif, Spokesperson for theSudanese youth movement Sudan Change Now.

According to the information received,on March 23, 2013, Mr. Abdalla was arrested at1 pm by the police during a peaceful demonstration held before the KhartoumBahri Hospital. The demonstration, attendedby roughly 50 people, was organised by several doctors’ unions to protest arecent decree issued by the Khartoum Minister of Health ordering the closure ofseveral public hospitals. He was taken to KhartoumBahri police station. He was released at around 12.30am on March 24, andordered to report to the Political Section of the National Intelligence andSecurity Services (NISS) offices in Khartoum Bahri at 8.30am the same day. On24 March, Mr. Abdalla reported to the NISS as instructed and has been detainedincommunicado ever since. When his family requested to visit him, they werereportedly told by the NISS to return in fourteen days. The nature of criminalcharges against him, if any, and his exact whereabouts are not known.

Mr. Abdalla has reportedly been arrested more than twotimes, but released without charge, in the last year.

On March 23, Mr. Khalid Omer Yousif was alsosummoned to the Political Section of the NISS offices in Khartoum Bahri andinterrogated about his role in the demonstrations. He was released at midnightthe same day and ordered to report back to the NISS offices on the morning ofMarch 24, where he waited until 5pm without being interviewed. He wassubsequently ordered to report back to the NISS office on the mornings of March25 and 26, after which he was told that the investigation against him hadconcluded and he was no longer required to report to the NISS.

The Observatoryexpresses its deepest concerns about these acts of harassment and is deeply concerned by Mr. Hatim Ali Abdalla'sincommunicado detention and fears for his physical and psychological integrity,particularly in the current context of widespread resort to acts of torture andill-treatment in NISS detention centres in Sudan. The Observatory calls uponthe Sudanese authorities to take prompt action in order to disclose his fateand whereabouts, ensure his access to his family and lawyer and release himimmediately as it believes that his arrest merely aims at sanctioning his human rights activities.

Actions requested:

TheObservatory urges the authorities of Sudan to:

i. Guarantee inall circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Hatim Ali Abdalla and Khalid Omer Yousif, as well as of allhuman rights defenders in Sudan;

ii. Take prompt action in order to disclose the fate and whereabouts of Mr. Hatim Ali Abdalla and to unconditionally release him, as his detention is arbitrary since it only aimsat sanctioning their human rights activities;

iii. Immediately grant Mr. Hatim Ali Abdalla access to his family and lawyers;

iv. Put an end to anykind of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Messrs. Hatim Ali Abdalla and Khalid Omer Yousif, as well as against allhuman rights defenders in Sudan, and ensure in all circumstances that they areable to carry out their activities without hindrances;

v. Conform in anycircumstances with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human RightsDefenders, in particular its Article 1, which states that “everyone has theright, individually or in association with others, to promote the protectionand realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national andinternational levels”, and its article 12.2 which provides that “the Stateshall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competentauthorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, againstany violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination,pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or herlegitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;

vi. Ensure in all circumstancesrespect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance withinternational human rights standards and international instruments ratified bySudan.

Addresses:

· Mr. President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, Office of the President, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 249 183 783223
· Mr. Mohammed Boushara Dossa, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan; Fax: 249 183 764 168 / +249 183 770 883; Email: moj@moj.gov.sd
· Mr. Ali Ahmed Karti, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs/External Relations, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: 249183772941
· Mr. Ibrahim Mahmoud Ahmed, Minister of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Interior, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 183 779383 / +249 183 776 554; Email: ministry@mfa.gov.sd
· Advisory Council for Human Rights, Rapporteur, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 183 77 08 83
· Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 51-53 (3rd Floor), 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Tel: +41 22 731 26 63, Fax: +41 22 731 26 56 / +41 22 716 19 70, Email: mission.sudan@bluewin.ch
· Embassy of Sudan in Brussels, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 124, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Tel.:0032 (2) 647 51 59 / 0032 (2) 647 94 94, Fax: 0032 (2) 648 34 99, Email: sudanbx@yahoo.com

Please also write to diplomatic representations of Sudan in your respective countries.

***
Paris-Geneva, March 29, 2013

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29