Sudan
02.02.05
Urgent Interventions
Sudan: Arrest of senior members of the Beja Congress
Case SDN 020205
Arbitrary Detention
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, of the arrest of senior members of the Beja Congress in Port Sudan and Kassala.
According to the information received, in the early morning of 1 February 2005, security forces in Port Sudan arrested Mr. Abdallah Mussa Abdallah, Secretary General of the Beja Congress in the Red Sea State, from his home in Port Sudan, Eastern region of Sudan. On the same day, the security forces also arrested senior members of the Beja Congress in Port Sudan and Kassala. The men are being detained at security offices in Port Sudan and Kassala. Their details are as follows:
Port Sudan
1. Hashim Ali Doura
2. Abdelrahim Albury
Kassala
1. Ali Hussain
2. Mohamed Samra
3. Hussain Adam
4. Dr. Mahmoud Ibrahim Osman
No reason has been given for their arrests, although it follows a demonstration on 29th January 2005 in Port Sudan by members of Eastern tribes, predominantly the Beja tribe citing consistent socio-economic and political marginalisation by the government of Khartoum. During this demonstration, police forces fired live ammunition killing 19 people including two children and a woman.
OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned persons. According to the information received, these men are being arbitrarily detained on account of their political opposition to the government of Sudan.
Requested Action:
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all detainees;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, and if such charges exist, to ensure that they are given a prompt and fair trial, in which their procedural rights are guaranteed at all times;
iii. immediately order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. 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, 2nd February 2005
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary Detention
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, of the arrest of senior members of the Beja Congress in Port Sudan and Kassala.
According to the information received, in the early morning of 1 February 2005, security forces in Port Sudan arrested Mr. Abdallah Mussa Abdallah, Secretary General of the Beja Congress in the Red Sea State, from his home in Port Sudan, Eastern region of Sudan. On the same day, the security forces also arrested senior members of the Beja Congress in Port Sudan and Kassala. The men are being detained at security offices in Port Sudan and Kassala. Their details are as follows:
Port Sudan
1. Hashim Ali Doura
2. Abdelrahim Albury
Kassala
1. Ali Hussain
2. Mohamed Samra
3. Hussain Adam
4. Dr. Mahmoud Ibrahim Osman
No reason has been given for their arrests, although it follows a demonstration on 29th January 2005 in Port Sudan by members of Eastern tribes, predominantly the Beja tribe citing consistent socio-economic and political marginalisation by the government of Khartoum. During this demonstration, police forces fired live ammunition killing 19 people including two children and a woman.
OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned persons. According to the information received, these men are being arbitrarily detained on account of their political opposition to the government of Sudan.
Requested Action:
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all detainees;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, and if such charges exist, to ensure that they are given a prompt and fair trial, in which their procedural rights are guaranteed at all times;
iii. immediately order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. 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, 2nd February 2005
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.