Sudan
27.03.03
Urgent Interventions
Sudan: arrest and incommunicado detention of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and Yasir Mohamed Al Hassan Osman
Case SDN 270303
Arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention / Risk of torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sudan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received information from the Sudan Organization Against Torture, a member of the OMCT network, regarding the arrest and incommunicado detention of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and Yasir Mohamed Al Hassan Osman.
According to the information received, on the evening of March 23, 2003, Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas, 37, was arrested by twelve armed security personnel from the National Security Agency. Mohamed, a graduate of Khartoum University, was reportedly arrested from his house in Arkawiet, Khartoum. The officers allegedly searched his house and the houses of his neighbours. According to the information received, Mohamed was then arrested along with his relative, Rashid, who lives in the same house as Mohamed, and a neighbor named Ali. No reasons were given for the arrests.
According to the information received, Mohamed is currently being detained incommunicado, giving rise to fears that he is being subjected to ill-treatment or torture, while Rashid and Ali were released on the same day as their arrest, March 23rd. Mohamed Al Wasila is reportedly married to Salwa Saeid, a well-known lawyer and human rights defender, however she was outside the country at the time of her husband’s arrest.
It is also reported that another arbitrary arrest occurred in Khartoum on March 22, 2003. According to the information received, Yasir Mohamed Al Hassan Osman was arrested at 10pm from the Faculty of Medicine at Khartoum University where he works. After his arrest Yasir was reportedly taken to the political section of the security forces offices near Farough cemetery in Khartoum. Yasir is reportedly being detained incommunicado, and consequently runs a heightened risk of being subjected to ill-treatment or torture. Furthermore, security officers told his family that they were not allowed to visit him because he was under interrogation.
According to our sources, Yasir had previously been arrested during the October 2002 student’s uprising. On October 19th, 2002, eleven students were arrested during the demonstrations, including Yasir Mohamed El Hassan Osman, who was tortured while in detention. According to the information received, security officers stood on his chest and bladder, and beat him with an iron bar until he was unconscious. He was taken to the intensive care unit at Khartoum hospital immediately after his release.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned with the arrests and incommunicado detention of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and Yasir Mohamed Al Hassan Osman. OMCT fears for their physical and psychological integrity because they are being detained incommunicado, with the heightened risk of torture that this presents. OMCT calls on the Sudanese Government to locate their whereabouts, guarantee their personal integrity, allow them to receive visits by their families and legal representation, release them in the absence of valid legal charges, launch an investigation into their arrests and subsequent treatment and guarantee that they receive appropriate reparation for any injuries sustained during this time.
Action Requested
Please write to the authorities in Sudan and urge them to:
i. immediately locate the whereabouts of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas;
ii. take all necessary measures to ensure the physical and psychological integrity of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and Yaser Mohamed Al Hassan Osman;
iii. allow both men to receive family visits and access to legal representation;
iv. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or if legitimate charges exist, bring them before an impartial tribunal and guarantee procedural rights at all times;
v. launch a prompt and impartial investigation into the circumstances of their arrests and subsequent treatmen, identify those responsible bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
vi. guarantee adequate reparation to Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and Yaser Mohamed Al Hassan Osman
vii. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout Sudan in accordance with national laws and international 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: + 24911 783223
· Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911 788941
· Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911 779383
· Mr. Yasir Sid Ahmed, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 24911 779173
· His Excellency Ambassador Mr Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent Mission of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax : +4122 7312656. E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int
In addition, please write to the Sudanese embassies in your respective country.
Geneva, March 27th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply
Arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention / Risk of torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sudan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received information from the Sudan Organization Against Torture, a member of the OMCT network, regarding the arrest and incommunicado detention of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and Yasir Mohamed Al Hassan Osman.
According to the information received, on the evening of March 23, 2003, Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas, 37, was arrested by twelve armed security personnel from the National Security Agency. Mohamed, a graduate of Khartoum University, was reportedly arrested from his house in Arkawiet, Khartoum. The officers allegedly searched his house and the houses of his neighbours. According to the information received, Mohamed was then arrested along with his relative, Rashid, who lives in the same house as Mohamed, and a neighbor named Ali. No reasons were given for the arrests.
According to the information received, Mohamed is currently being detained incommunicado, giving rise to fears that he is being subjected to ill-treatment or torture, while Rashid and Ali were released on the same day as their arrest, March 23rd. Mohamed Al Wasila is reportedly married to Salwa Saeid, a well-known lawyer and human rights defender, however she was outside the country at the time of her husband’s arrest.
It is also reported that another arbitrary arrest occurred in Khartoum on March 22, 2003. According to the information received, Yasir Mohamed Al Hassan Osman was arrested at 10pm from the Faculty of Medicine at Khartoum University where he works. After his arrest Yasir was reportedly taken to the political section of the security forces offices near Farough cemetery in Khartoum. Yasir is reportedly being detained incommunicado, and consequently runs a heightened risk of being subjected to ill-treatment or torture. Furthermore, security officers told his family that they were not allowed to visit him because he was under interrogation.
According to our sources, Yasir had previously been arrested during the October 2002 student’s uprising. On October 19th, 2002, eleven students were arrested during the demonstrations, including Yasir Mohamed El Hassan Osman, who was tortured while in detention. According to the information received, security officers stood on his chest and bladder, and beat him with an iron bar until he was unconscious. He was taken to the intensive care unit at Khartoum hospital immediately after his release.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned with the arrests and incommunicado detention of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and Yasir Mohamed Al Hassan Osman. OMCT fears for their physical and psychological integrity because they are being detained incommunicado, with the heightened risk of torture that this presents. OMCT calls on the Sudanese Government to locate their whereabouts, guarantee their personal integrity, allow them to receive visits by their families and legal representation, release them in the absence of valid legal charges, launch an investigation into their arrests and subsequent treatment and guarantee that they receive appropriate reparation for any injuries sustained during this time.
Action Requested
Please write to the authorities in Sudan and urge them to:
i. immediately locate the whereabouts of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas;
ii. take all necessary measures to ensure the physical and psychological integrity of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and Yaser Mohamed Al Hassan Osman;
iii. allow both men to receive family visits and access to legal representation;
iv. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or if legitimate charges exist, bring them before an impartial tribunal and guarantee procedural rights at all times;
v. launch a prompt and impartial investigation into the circumstances of their arrests and subsequent treatmen, identify those responsible bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
vi. guarantee adequate reparation to Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and Yaser Mohamed Al Hassan Osman
vii. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout Sudan in accordance with national laws and international 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: + 24911 783223
· Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911 788941
· Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911 779383
· Mr. Yasir Sid Ahmed, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 24911 779173
· His Excellency Ambassador Mr Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent Mission of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax : +4122 7312656. E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int
In addition, please write to the Sudanese embassies in your respective country.
Geneva, March 27th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply