Sudan
23.08.02
Urgent Interventions
Sudan: release of three suspected members of the PNC, continuing detention of 4 others, including its Secretary General, Dr. Hassan Al Turabi
Case SDN 120602.1
Release / Arbitrary detention
Geneva, August 23rd, 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sudan.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the OMCT network, of the release of three members of the Organisation of Islamic Call that had been suspected of belonging to the banned Popular National Congress (PNC), and that a presidential decree was issued on August 15th 2002, by President Omer El Bashir, extending the period of PNC Secretary General Dr. Hassan Al Turabi’s house arrest.
According to the information received, the three members of International Islamic organisation Monazmat Aldawa Al Islamiya (MDI - the Organisation of Islamic Call), who were arrested on suspicion of belonging to the PNC and being supporters of Mr. Al Turabi, were released on July 15th, 2002. 62 year-old Dr. Alamin Mohamed Osman, the MDI Secretary General, who was arrested on June 10th, 2002, at his house in Almanshiya, left for England on the day of his release, in order to receive medical treatment. The other two persons, Abd Alaziz fadl Almuola, the organisation’s Administrative Manager, who was reportedly arrested at his home on June 10th, 2002, and Salah Babiker Asmali, the organisation’s Finance Manager, who was arrested on June 11th, 2002, while he was in his office, remain in Sudan.
According to the information received, Dr. Turabi, an Islamic leader and PNC Secretary General, was initially arrested on February 21st 2002, and charged under the following articles of Sudan’s Penal Code: Article 24, Criminal Conspiracy; Articles 50 and 51, Waging war against the state; and Article 63, Calling for Opposition to public authority by use of violence or criminal force. At the time of his arrest, police officers reportedly demanded that Dr.Turabi explain the ‘memorandum of understanding’ signed on February 19th, 2001, between the PNC and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), which called for joint “peaceful resistance” against the Sudanese regime. As a result of this, the PCN, which was established during 2000 following a split in Sudan’s ruling party in December 1999, and its newspaper, which is run by the Rai Al-Shaab daily, have been banned.
According to the information received, Dr. Turabi was held in detention in Kober prison from February 21st 2002 until June 9th 2001. The charges against Dr. Turabi and five other PNC leaders were reportedly dropped in June 5th 2001, the court ruled that the arrest of Dr. Turabi and his colleague’s was illegal and gave the Government until June 10th 2001 to release him. On June 9th 2002, Dr. Turabi was taken from Kober prison and put under house arrest in a guarded government-owned house, in the Kafori suburb of Khartoum, where he still remains.
According to the report, the Presidential decree authorising the extension of the house arrest for another year was issued in accordance with Article 15 of the 1998 State of Emergency and Public Safety Act, and is reportedly renewable at the end of this new extension period.
According to the information received, three persons remain detained in Kober Prison under suspicion of being members of the PNC. They are: Mustapha Madani, Awad Rizig and Yousif Suleiman. They were reportedly arbitrarily arrested and have not been allowed fair trials.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about Dr. Hassan Al Turabi’s continuing house arrest, which is arbitrary in nature and has been declared unconstitutional by Ali Yahya, a judge dealing with civil liberty cases at the Constitutional Court in Khartoum, after an appeal by Al Turabi’s lawyers. All charges against Turabi were dropped last year, and as such, his continued house arrest is contrary to provisions in the National Security Forces Act of 1999, amended 2001 which allow for incommunicado detention for periods of six up to nine months, and also violates rights laid out in Sudan’s constitution. However Yahya’s declaration was overruled by Jalal Ali Lutfi, the head of the Constitutional Court, who supported the Presidential Decree. OMCT also condemns the continued detention of Mustapha Madani, Awad Rizig and Yousif Suleiman. More generally, OMCT condemns the suppressive measures that the Sudanese Government is using against political opposition groups, and calls on the authorities to halt these immediately, in order to allow them to engage in their activities without further hindrance.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
· order lifting of house arrest imposed on Hassan Al Turabi and release Mustapha Madani, Awad Rizig and Yousif Suleiman, in the absence of valid legal charges, or if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
· lift the ban imposed on the Popular National Congress and its paper, guaranteeing freedoms of association and expression for members of the PNC;
· immediately lift the state of emergency and amend all the national laws to conform to international human rights standards.
· 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: + 249 11 783223 / 787676 / 771651
· His Excellency Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 249 11 779383 / 777268
If you are experiencing difficulties getting through to the fax numbers mentioned above, please send your letters to:
· His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 731 26 56, E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int.
Please also write to the diplomatic representatives of Sudan in your country.
Geneva, August 23rd, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Release / Arbitrary detention
Geneva, August 23rd, 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sudan.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the OMCT network, of the release of three members of the Organisation of Islamic Call that had been suspected of belonging to the banned Popular National Congress (PNC), and that a presidential decree was issued on August 15th 2002, by President Omer El Bashir, extending the period of PNC Secretary General Dr. Hassan Al Turabi’s house arrest.
According to the information received, the three members of International Islamic organisation Monazmat Aldawa Al Islamiya (MDI - the Organisation of Islamic Call), who were arrested on suspicion of belonging to the PNC and being supporters of Mr. Al Turabi, were released on July 15th, 2002. 62 year-old Dr. Alamin Mohamed Osman, the MDI Secretary General, who was arrested on June 10th, 2002, at his house in Almanshiya, left for England on the day of his release, in order to receive medical treatment. The other two persons, Abd Alaziz fadl Almuola, the organisation’s Administrative Manager, who was reportedly arrested at his home on June 10th, 2002, and Salah Babiker Asmali, the organisation’s Finance Manager, who was arrested on June 11th, 2002, while he was in his office, remain in Sudan.
According to the information received, Dr. Turabi, an Islamic leader and PNC Secretary General, was initially arrested on February 21st 2002, and charged under the following articles of Sudan’s Penal Code: Article 24, Criminal Conspiracy; Articles 50 and 51, Waging war against the state; and Article 63, Calling for Opposition to public authority by use of violence or criminal force. At the time of his arrest, police officers reportedly demanded that Dr.Turabi explain the ‘memorandum of understanding’ signed on February 19th, 2001, between the PNC and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), which called for joint “peaceful resistance” against the Sudanese regime. As a result of this, the PCN, which was established during 2000 following a split in Sudan’s ruling party in December 1999, and its newspaper, which is run by the Rai Al-Shaab daily, have been banned.
According to the information received, Dr. Turabi was held in detention in Kober prison from February 21st 2002 until June 9th 2001. The charges against Dr. Turabi and five other PNC leaders were reportedly dropped in June 5th 2001, the court ruled that the arrest of Dr. Turabi and his colleague’s was illegal and gave the Government until June 10th 2001 to release him. On June 9th 2002, Dr. Turabi was taken from Kober prison and put under house arrest in a guarded government-owned house, in the Kafori suburb of Khartoum, where he still remains.
According to the report, the Presidential decree authorising the extension of the house arrest for another year was issued in accordance with Article 15 of the 1998 State of Emergency and Public Safety Act, and is reportedly renewable at the end of this new extension period.
According to the information received, three persons remain detained in Kober Prison under suspicion of being members of the PNC. They are: Mustapha Madani, Awad Rizig and Yousif Suleiman. They were reportedly arbitrarily arrested and have not been allowed fair trials.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about Dr. Hassan Al Turabi’s continuing house arrest, which is arbitrary in nature and has been declared unconstitutional by Ali Yahya, a judge dealing with civil liberty cases at the Constitutional Court in Khartoum, after an appeal by Al Turabi’s lawyers. All charges against Turabi were dropped last year, and as such, his continued house arrest is contrary to provisions in the National Security Forces Act of 1999, amended 2001 which allow for incommunicado detention for periods of six up to nine months, and also violates rights laid out in Sudan’s constitution. However Yahya’s declaration was overruled by Jalal Ali Lutfi, the head of the Constitutional Court, who supported the Presidential Decree. OMCT also condemns the continued detention of Mustapha Madani, Awad Rizig and Yousif Suleiman. More generally, OMCT condemns the suppressive measures that the Sudanese Government is using against political opposition groups, and calls on the authorities to halt these immediately, in order to allow them to engage in their activities without further hindrance.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
· order lifting of house arrest imposed on Hassan Al Turabi and release Mustapha Madani, Awad Rizig and Yousif Suleiman, in the absence of valid legal charges, or if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
· lift the ban imposed on the Popular National Congress and its paper, guaranteeing freedoms of association and expression for members of the PNC;
· immediately lift the state of emergency and amend all the national laws to conform to international human rights standards.
· 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: + 249 11 783223 / 787676 / 771651
· His Excellency Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 249 11 779383 / 777268
If you are experiencing difficulties getting through to the fax numbers mentioned above, please send your letters to:
· His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 731 26 56, E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int.
Please also write to the diplomatic representatives of Sudan in your country.
Geneva, August 23rd, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.