Sudan: incommunicado detention of Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman

URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY SDN 002/0104/OBS 009.1 Arbitrary detention/fear for safety /incommunicado detention SUDAN March 5, 2004 The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of OMCT and the FIDH, has received new information on the following situation in Sudan and requests your urgent intervention. New information: The Observatory has been informed by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), that Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman, a member of the Sudan Organization Against Torture’s (SOAT) lawyers network, is in incommunicado detention. According to the information received, Mr. Osman is being held in incommunicado detention since the day of his arrest on February 1, 2004, without being charged with criminal offence or being brought before an independent and impartial tribunal. He was reportedly transferred on February 3, 2004, from the National Security Agency (NSA) to an undisclosed location in Khartoum. The Observatory is deeply concerned with Mr.Osman’s situation. Although the grounds for this arbitrary detention remain unknown, there is reason to believe that his arrest and detention are connected to his legal activities in the Darfur region. The Observatory urges the Sudanese authorities to guarantee Mr. Osman’s physical and psychological integrity and to order his immediate release in the absence of legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times. Background information: Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman, a member of the Sudan Organization Against Torture’s (SOAT) lawyers network, was arrested by members of the National Security Agency (NSA), on February 1, 2004, at 11:00 pm at his home in Wad-Madani, capital of the Central Region in Sudan. According to SOAT, he was being held at the National Security Agency offices in Wad Madani where he was reportedly being interrogated. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Osman was suffering from jaundice. Because of Mr. Osman’s poor health, his wife was allowed to bring him food. However, she was reportedly denied the right to visit him. Mr. Osman is a well known lawyer and writer. Over the past year, he has provided free legal aid to hundreds of victims of human rights abuses in Darfur and has also provided legal representation to those facing capital or severe punishment (amputation and cross amputation). Action requested: Please write to the authorities of Sudan urging them to: i. immediately take all necessary measures to guarantee Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman’s physical and psychological integrity; ii. order his immediate release in the absence of legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times; iii. order an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil, competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions provided by law; iv. conform to the provisions of the Declaration on Humans Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels"; article 12.2 which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto o de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration."; v. ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards. Addresses: · His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Telex: 22385 PEPLC SD or 22411 KAID SD, fax : + 24911 783223 · Mr Ali Osman Yasin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Telex:22459 KHRJA SD or 22461 KHRJA SD (via Ministry of Foreign Affairs), fax : + 24911 788941 · Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, fax : + 24911 779383 · His Excellency Ambassador Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent Mission of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, Case Postal 335, 1211 Geneva 19, fax : 0041 (0) 22 731 26 56, email: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int. Given the lack of working fax numbers for the government officials above, please send the appeals by standard mail and also write to the Embassy of Sudan in your country. Paris - Geneva, March 5, 2004 Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply. The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic. To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line: E-mail: observatoire@iprolink.ch Tel and fax FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 01 43 55 18 80 Tel and fax OMCT + 4122 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29