Sudan
07.05.03
Urgent Interventions
Sudan: incommunicado detention of a member of the student movement
Case SDN 031202.4
Follow-up of Case SDN 031202
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Risk of torture
Geneva, May 7th, 2003
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Sudan.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudanese Organisation against Torture, a member of the OMCT network, of another case of arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of a member of the student movement in Sudan.
According to the information received, at around 7:30 pm on March 20th, 2003, 35-year old Ahmed Da'wah Al Bayt Ahmed, a member of The Student Independent Congress and a graduate of the University of Omdurman Al Ahlia, was arrested near the Hejazi college, next to the University of Sudan. Mr. Ahmed was with a friend when a group of armed men claiming to be from the secret police investigation unit arrested him. He was reportedly taken away in a car with blacked out windows and plate number 903 K'K'. A second car, a part convertible 'boxi', followed the first car. Mr. Ahmed was taken to an undisclosed location, but reports indicate that he may be at Kober prison. Someone released from Kober prison claims to have seen him there around the end of March. One of Mr. Ahmed's friends reportedly went to Kober prison and tried to see him, but was told by security that "even if the President requested to see him, he himself will not be allowed to do so."
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the arrest and incommunicado detention of Ahmed Da'wah Al Bayt Ahmed. OMCT fears for his physical and psychological integrity because he has been detained incommunicado for a lengthy, giving rise to fears that he has been subjected to ill-treatment and/or torture during this time. Such practices have been denounced on several occasions by OMCT in previous appeals concerning Sudan, including on members of student organisations. OMCT calls on the Sudanese Government to locate his whereabouts, guarantee his personal integrity. OMCT urges the authorities to order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges against him that are in line with international law, or, if such charges exist, for him to be receive a prompt and fair trial and that his procedural rights to be guaranteed at all times. OMCT also calls on the authorities to ensure that he is granted access to family visits and legal representation.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, on April 9th, 2003, the National Security Agency arrested Parthel Maus and Molawal Gidboat, third year law students at Al Nilein University, Khartoum. Mr. Gidboat was released later the same day, but Mr. Maus continues to be detained, his whereabout unknown. Both students are from Southern Sudan, are members of the African National Front (ANF), a southern Sudanese student movement, and had been involved in the organisation of and campaigning surrounding the recent Student Union elections at the university.
On April 24th, 2003, Lenin Altayeb Yousif, a teacher at the Sudan Private School in Al Khalakla Al Guba, Khartoum, was arrested by the National Security Agency outside of the school. Mr. Yousif was taken to an undisclosed location, and his family has been unable to obtain information regarding his whereabouts and condition. Mr. Yousif is a former student leader at Al Nilein University in Khartoum and a well-known member of the Sudanese Students Democratic Front (SSDF). He has reportedly been arrested on three previous occasions and been tortured during a prior detention. Three of Mr. Yousif's brothers, were arrested on Novermber 29th, 2002, to be held until Mr. Yousif presented himself. Two of the men were subsequently released, but Al Shafe'e Altayeb Yousif remains imprisoned.
In Sudan, students are one of the groups with the greatest risk of torture or ill-treatment during detention. There have been arbitrary arrests, and restrictions on freedom of expression and association throughout the past year, with the harshest actions taken in May, 2002, and October/November 2002. Both crackdowns followed demonsstrations commemorating significant historical events. In May, twenty-five students and members of ANF were arrested and charged with offences including "war against the state", sedition, breaching public peace, and causing injury. Members of the SSDF and members of the ANF have been specifically targeted. In January 2002, Acts of Student Codes of Conduct were introduced to prevent students from taking part in political activities. These Acts have provided grounds for student suspension and dismissal. Meetings, demonstrations and other student political or social activities are broken up by security forces, and Khartoum University Students Union (KUSU), a major student union, was suspended and banned four years ago when opposition appeared poised to win campus elections.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. Immediately locate the whereabouts of Mr. Ahmed Da'wah Al Bayt Ahmed and take all necessary measures to guarantee his physical and psychological integrity;
ii. order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee that Mr. Ahmed is granted access to legal representation and family visits;
iv. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the arbitrary arrests and any allegations of ill-treatment and/or torture, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country 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
Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.
Geneva, May 7th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow-up of Case SDN 031202
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Risk of torture
Geneva, May 7th, 2003
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Sudan.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudanese Organisation against Torture, a member of the OMCT network, of another case of arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of a member of the student movement in Sudan.
According to the information received, at around 7:30 pm on March 20th, 2003, 35-year old Ahmed Da'wah Al Bayt Ahmed, a member of The Student Independent Congress and a graduate of the University of Omdurman Al Ahlia, was arrested near the Hejazi college, next to the University of Sudan. Mr. Ahmed was with a friend when a group of armed men claiming to be from the secret police investigation unit arrested him. He was reportedly taken away in a car with blacked out windows and plate number 903 K'K'. A second car, a part convertible 'boxi', followed the first car. Mr. Ahmed was taken to an undisclosed location, but reports indicate that he may be at Kober prison. Someone released from Kober prison claims to have seen him there around the end of March. One of Mr. Ahmed's friends reportedly went to Kober prison and tried to see him, but was told by security that "even if the President requested to see him, he himself will not be allowed to do so."
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the arrest and incommunicado detention of Ahmed Da'wah Al Bayt Ahmed. OMCT fears for his physical and psychological integrity because he has been detained incommunicado for a lengthy, giving rise to fears that he has been subjected to ill-treatment and/or torture during this time. Such practices have been denounced on several occasions by OMCT in previous appeals concerning Sudan, including on members of student organisations. OMCT calls on the Sudanese Government to locate his whereabouts, guarantee his personal integrity. OMCT urges the authorities to order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges against him that are in line with international law, or, if such charges exist, for him to be receive a prompt and fair trial and that his procedural rights to be guaranteed at all times. OMCT also calls on the authorities to ensure that he is granted access to family visits and legal representation.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, on April 9th, 2003, the National Security Agency arrested Parthel Maus and Molawal Gidboat, third year law students at Al Nilein University, Khartoum. Mr. Gidboat was released later the same day, but Mr. Maus continues to be detained, his whereabout unknown. Both students are from Southern Sudan, are members of the African National Front (ANF), a southern Sudanese student movement, and had been involved in the organisation of and campaigning surrounding the recent Student Union elections at the university.
On April 24th, 2003, Lenin Altayeb Yousif, a teacher at the Sudan Private School in Al Khalakla Al Guba, Khartoum, was arrested by the National Security Agency outside of the school. Mr. Yousif was taken to an undisclosed location, and his family has been unable to obtain information regarding his whereabouts and condition. Mr. Yousif is a former student leader at Al Nilein University in Khartoum and a well-known member of the Sudanese Students Democratic Front (SSDF). He has reportedly been arrested on three previous occasions and been tortured during a prior detention. Three of Mr. Yousif's brothers, were arrested on Novermber 29th, 2002, to be held until Mr. Yousif presented himself. Two of the men were subsequently released, but Al Shafe'e Altayeb Yousif remains imprisoned.
In Sudan, students are one of the groups with the greatest risk of torture or ill-treatment during detention. There have been arbitrary arrests, and restrictions on freedom of expression and association throughout the past year, with the harshest actions taken in May, 2002, and October/November 2002. Both crackdowns followed demonsstrations commemorating significant historical events. In May, twenty-five students and members of ANF were arrested and charged with offences including "war against the state", sedition, breaching public peace, and causing injury. Members of the SSDF and members of the ANF have been specifically targeted. In January 2002, Acts of Student Codes of Conduct were introduced to prevent students from taking part in political activities. These Acts have provided grounds for student suspension and dismissal. Meetings, demonstrations and other student political or social activities are broken up by security forces, and Khartoum University Students Union (KUSU), a major student union, was suspended and banned four years ago when opposition appeared poised to win campus elections.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. Immediately locate the whereabouts of Mr. Ahmed Da'wah Al Bayt Ahmed and take all necessary measures to guarantee his physical and psychological integrity;
ii. order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee that Mr. Ahmed is granted access to legal representation and family visits;
iv. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the arbitrary arrests and any allegations of ill-treatment and/or torture, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country 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
Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.
Geneva, May 7th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.