Sudan
31.01.05
Urgent Interventions

Sudan: 23 persons detained and face the death penalty

Case SDN 310105
Arbitrary Detention / Torture / Death Penalty


The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information concerning the following situation in Sudan.


Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the OMCT network, that a total of 23 persons have been detained in three separate incidences in Sudan and face the death penalty.

According to the information received, on 30th November 2004, the Armed Forces arrested four men from Adwa village, 47 km North of Nyala, Southern Darfur state. The men were arrested from their homes following an earlier arrest of 19 people ranging in age from 21 to 85 belonging to the Fur and Dajo tribe from their homes and on the streets in Adwa village by the armed forces and the Janjaweed (militias) in Land Rovers on 28th November 2004.

The men were initially detained at Nyala Wasat (central) police station where they were officially charged under article 51 and article 58 of the 1991 Penal Code. On 7 December 2004, the four detainees were transferred to Nyala prison where they remain in detention.

The four men are accused of supporting the SLA, their details are as follows:
1. Idreas Adam Abdella, 60 yrs
2. Mohamed Ahmed Ahmed Abdella, 35 yrs
3. Abdella tairab Saif Aldeen, 28 yrs
4. Ibraheam Soulieman Abaker, 33 yrs


In a separate incident, on 1st January 2005, Military Intelligence in Nyala arrested twelve men from the Birgid tribe from Doumma village, 12 Km North of Nyala. The men are accused of supporting the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and of committing crimes against state. The twelve men were reportedly tortured by the Military Intelligence during their arrest and on the way to Nyala. They beat the men with their hands and kicked them with their boots. The twelve detainees were initially taken to the military intelligence offices in Nyala and detained there for 1 day. On 2 January 2005, the men were transferred to Nyala Wasat (central) police station where they were officially charged under articles 51 (Waging War against the State) and article 58 (Abetment of Mutiny) of the 1991 Penal Code.

Following the official charges, the men were transferred to Nyala prison where they remain in detention. Their details are as follows:

1. Zakarea Adam Abdella, 53 yrs, Omda of Birgid tribe,
2. Ali Yousif Adam, 38 yrs,
3. Mohamed Abdel rahman Abdella, 31 yrs
4. Musa Abdel Kareem Abdel mawla, 29 yrs
5. Hassan Soulieman Ibraheam, 41 yrs
6. Mohamed Ibraheam Abdella, 25 yrs
7. Hafiz Adam Soulieman, 19 yrs
8. Adam Abdel raheam Abdel rahman, 35 yrs
9. Mohamed Hassan Abdel Ghani, 40 yrs
10. Yahya Ishag Ali, 18 yrs
11. Jafer Mohamed Abdella, 21 yrs
12. Soulieman Mohamed Arbab, 22 yrs



In another incident, on 5, 7, 8 and 9th January 2005, the police and security forces arrested 7 Internationally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Outash camp, North of Nyala. The arrest followed the death of a police officer on 5 January 2005 in the camp during disturbances following attempts to force the IDPs to leave the camp and return to their villages. The men were initially detained at Nyala Wasat (central) police station where they were officially charged with murder under article 130 of the 1991 Penal Code. During the arrest, the police officers reportedly tortured the IDPs. The 7 men were beaten with sticks all over their bodies. The 7 men remain in detention at Nyala prison. The details of the detainees are as follows:

1. Khamees Musa, arrested on 9 January 05
2. Abdella Ishag Mohamed, arrested on 8 January 05
3. Abdel Aziz Ahmed Ali, arrested on 7 January 05
4. Ahmed Mohamed Khaleel, arrested on 5 January 05
5. Adam Altahir Abdella, arrested on 5 January 05
6. Adam Rasheed Mohamed, arrested on 5 January 05
7. Omer Rasheed Mohamed, 5 January 05

OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the above mentioned persons and stresses that it is strongly opposed to the death penalty as an extreme form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and a violation of the right to life, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.


Requested Action:
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:

i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all detainees;

ii. immediately commute the death sentences;

iii. ensure that the procedural rights of the above detainees are guaranteed at all times, including their right to access to counsel;

iv. immediately order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of their arrest and alleged torture, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;

v. abolish the death penalty in Sudan;

vi. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international humanitarian law and human rights standards.


Addresses:
  • His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan, President' s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 783223

  • Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 788941

  • Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affair, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 779383

  • Dr. Abdelmuneim Osman Mohamed Taha, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 770883

  • His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Mohamed Al- Hassan Ahmed Al-Haj, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 731 26 56, +41 22 716 19 70, E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int.

Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.

Geneva, 31st January 2005

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