Sudan
15.03.05
Urgent Interventions
Sudan: Arbitrary detention of Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw
Case SDN 150305.VAW
Violence Against Women
Arbitrary Detention / Risk of death penalty
The International Secretariat of OMCT has requests your urgent intervention 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 on 11 February 2005, police forces in Zalingy, Western Darfur State, arrested Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw, 26 yrs, a Christian woman belonging to the Dinka tribe, on suspicion of committing adultery (Zina).
According to the information received, Mrs. Fanna’s husband Mr. Dominic Abiro Coca, a sergeant working for the armed forces brought the case of alleged ‘Zina’ against Mrs. Fanna to the police forces in Zalingy. Mr. Dominic alleges that Mrs. Fanna is his wife and that he has been absent from Zalingy for two years and that she had conceived and given birth in his absence. Reportedly the baby is 7 months old.
Mrs. Fanna is currently detained at police offices in Zalingy and is charged with article 146 (Adultery) of the 1991 Penal Code. If convicted, Mrs. Fanna is at risk of execution by stoning.
OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw and stresses that it is strongly opposed to stoning as well as the death penalty which violates human rights in particular the right not to be subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.
OMCT’s Violence against Women Programme is concerned that laws that criminalize adultery and sexual relations outside of marriage are often used as mechanisms to circumscribe and control female sexuality and their implementation frequently discriminates against women. In addition, evidentiary requirements that provide that pregnancy constitutes irrefutable “evidence” of adultery or that give less weight to the testimony of women reinforce the gender discrimination in the administration of justice, which results in women being sentenced to corporal or capital punishment in far larger numbers than men.
Requested Action:
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw;
ii. order the immediate release of Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards;
iii. ensure women the right to be free from discrimination, including violence, in line with international laws and standards;
iv. ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as well as the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
v. 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:
Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.
Geneva, 15 March 2005
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Violence Against Women
Arbitrary Detention / Risk of death penalty
The International Secretariat of OMCT has requests your urgent intervention 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 on 11 February 2005, police forces in Zalingy, Western Darfur State, arrested Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw, 26 yrs, a Christian woman belonging to the Dinka tribe, on suspicion of committing adultery (Zina).
According to the information received, Mrs. Fanna’s husband Mr. Dominic Abiro Coca, a sergeant working for the armed forces brought the case of alleged ‘Zina’ against Mrs. Fanna to the police forces in Zalingy. Mr. Dominic alleges that Mrs. Fanna is his wife and that he has been absent from Zalingy for two years and that she had conceived and given birth in his absence. Reportedly the baby is 7 months old.
Mrs. Fanna is currently detained at police offices in Zalingy and is charged with article 146 (Adultery) of the 1991 Penal Code. If convicted, Mrs. Fanna is at risk of execution by stoning.
OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw and stresses that it is strongly opposed to stoning as well as the death penalty which violates human rights in particular the right not to be subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.
OMCT’s Violence against Women Programme is concerned that laws that criminalize adultery and sexual relations outside of marriage are often used as mechanisms to circumscribe and control female sexuality and their implementation frequently discriminates against women. In addition, evidentiary requirements that provide that pregnancy constitutes irrefutable “evidence” of adultery or that give less weight to the testimony of women reinforce the gender discrimination in the administration of justice, which results in women being sentenced to corporal or capital punishment in far larger numbers than men.
Requested Action:
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw;
ii. order the immediate release of Mrs. Fanna Souker Saw in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards;
iii. ensure women the right to be free from discrimination, including violence, in line with international laws and standards;
iv. ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as well as the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
v. 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, 15 March 2005
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.