Sudan: Release of two members of the Beja Congress

Case SDN 020205.1 - Follow up to Case SDN 020205

Arbitrary Detention / Release

Geneva, July 8th 2005

The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information concerning 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 two senior members of the Beja Congress.

According to the information received, Hashim Ali Doura and Abdelraheim Albury were released on 30 June 2005 along with a number of members of the Popular National Congress, Immigrant Movement INSAF and Beja Congress.

Reminder of the Situation:

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.

Remarks

The International Secretariat of OMCT wishes to thank the individuals and institutions who intervened on behalf of Hashim Ali Doura and Abdelraheim Albury. However, OMCT remains gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the remaining detainees Ali Hussain, Mohamed Samra, Hussain Adam and
Dr. Mahmoud Ibrahim Osman.

Requested Action:

Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all detainees;
ii. Order the immediate release of the four remaining Beja Congress members who are detained in Kassala 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, 8th July 2005

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