Sudan: Murder of Mr. Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed

Case SDN 110906
Murder

Geneva, September 11, 2006

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in 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 murder of Mr. Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed, a well-known journalist and social commentator in Sudan.

According to the information received, on September 6, 2006, the decapitated body of Mr. Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed was found in the Fetaih Alaqalien area of Kalakla district (25 kilometres from Central Khartoum). He was allegedly kidnapped from his home in Kober, Khartoum North, at approximately 11.30 pm on Tuesday, September 5, 2006, by unknown masked persons who forced him to enter a Corona Salon car with blacked-out windows.

Mr. Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed was the publisher and editor-in-Chief of Alwifaq Arabic language daily newspaper. It is reported that he repeatedly received death threats because of his political and social commentaries published in this newspaper.

The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its deep concern regarding the murder of Mr. Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed and urges the Sudanese authorities to order a thorough and impartial investigation into his death.

Action requested:

Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
1. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the death of Mr. Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial, and apply the civil, penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
2. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to the family of Mr. Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed;
3. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sudan is a State Party since 1986.

Addresses:

• His Excellency Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan, Presidential Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 183 783 223
  
• His Excellency Salva Kiir Mayardit, First Vice-President, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 249 11 779977 / 771025
  
• His Excellency Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, Vice-President, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 249 183 77 10 25
  
• Mr Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 249 183 78 07 96
  
• Mr Lam Akol Ajawin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs/External Relations, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 249 183 77 93 83
  
• Mr. Al Zubeir Beshir Taha, Minister of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Interior, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 183 77 93 83
  
• Dr Abdelmuneim Osman Mohamed Taha, Advisory Council for Human Rights, Rapporteur, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 183 77 08 83
  
• His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Mohamed Elhassan Ahmed Elhaj, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 47, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Tel: +41 22 731 26 63, Fax: +41 22 731 26 56, Email: mission.sudan@bluewin.ch, mission.sudan@ties.itu.int
  
• The Embassy of Sudan in Brussels, Mr. Ali Yousif Ahmed, Av. F.D. Roosevelt, 124, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Tel.: + 32 2 647 51 59 / 94 94, Fax: + 32 (2) 648 34 99, Email: sudanbx@yahoo.com

Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.

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Geneva, September 11, 2006

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.