Torture and ill-treatment in custody in White Nile State

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 OMCT SOS-Torture network, about the torture and ill-treament suffered by eight Darfuris (names below) in White Nile State and the disappearance of one of them, Mr. Khalil Abdulhalim.

According to the information received, on 11 May 2008 at around 10am, members of the Sudanese Armed Forces manning a military checkpoint by a bridge in the town of Kosti, White Nile State, stopped a public bus travelling to Khartoum from el-Obeid, the capital of Northern Kordofan State, and ordered eight Darfuri passengers to disembark. The names of two of the Darfuri passengers are unknown. The known details of the remaining six are as follows:

1. Hasan Arafat (from the Burgo tribe, from al-Geneina in West Darfur)
2. Abdullah Hasabo Adam (26 years old, Burgo, from Tendalti village near al-Geneina)
3. Khalil Abdulhalim (18, from al-Geneina)
4. Mohamed Dawood (from al-Geneina)
5. Aldoma
6. Sabir

The eight Darfuri passengers were reportedly taken to a military site and interrogated. Topics of questioning included where they had come from, their planned destinations and the whereabouts of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Khalil Ibrahim. In the course of this interrogation, all were allegedly beaten. Seven of the detainees were subsequently taken to the local military headquarters, where they were allegedly subjected to further physical abuse and were interrogated individually about whether they had links with JEM or with the faction of the Sudan Liberation Army loyal to Abdul Wahid al-Nur. According to the information, Mr. Khalil Abdulhalim was not taken to the military headquarters with the other seven detainees. His whereabouts remains till this date unknown. Relatives who visited the military headquarters were informed that he had been released on 20 May 2008. But as of 21 May 2008 his family had still not heard from him.

According to the information, the seven detainees who had been taken together to the military headquarters were transported to a highway and released on 19 May 2008, after having their belongings and money confiscated. One of those who was freed reported that the specific kinds of abuses that he had suffered in custody included: being stripped to his underwear; being beaten and kicked with boots; having his hands tied behind his back with rope; having a rope wrapped around his neck and pulled; and being threatened with a knife, which he was told would be used to slaughter him if he did not admit to being a member of JEM. His abductors eventually forced him to swear on a copy of the Qur’an that he was not a rebel. After his release, public prosecutors in Kosti viewed the evidence backing up his allegations of abuse and reportedly agreed to open a case.

In the days following the JEM attacks on 10 May 2008, hundreds of people were reportedly arrested in and around Khartoum and the neighbouring city of Omdurman and were held in unknown locations. The arrests appeared to be extremely arbitrary, targeting Darfuris, especially those of Zaghawa ethnicity, and individuals who simply bear a physical resemblance to people from the region. The authorities also detained members of the Popular Congress Party (PCP), which has been accused of links with JEM. Medical staff and journalists reported that individuals who were subsequently freed were visiting local hospitals to be treated for injuries sustained as a result of physical abuse in custody.

Under Sudanese law, a person can be detained for up to nine months without charge. Existing legislation also grants many categories of state officials effective immunity from prosecution for human rights violations like arbitrary detention and abuses in custody.

The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its grave concern about the torture and ill-treatment suffered by the above mentioned individuals. It is particularly concerned by the disappearance of Mr. Khalil Abdulhalim. OMCT recalls that Sudan is a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In line with their obligations under this treaty, it is incumbent on the Sudanese authorities to consider seriously any allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and to undertake a thorough investigation in this regard.

Requested Action

Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:

1. Immediately locate the whereabouts of Mr. Khalil Abdulhalim;
2. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all the above mentioned individuals and guarantee appropriate medical care;
3. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, in particular into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
4. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to the victims;
5. 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, and in particular, expedite reforms to bring the Sudanese justice system and all legislation into line with the Interim National Constitution and international human rights standards, and to end the impunity of state officials.

Addresses

• H.E. President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, Office of the President, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan
• H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, First Vice-President, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan,
• H.E. Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, Vice-President, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan
• Mr. Abdel Bassit Sabdarat, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan
• Mr. Deng Alor, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs/External Relations, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan
• Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Hamed, Minister of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Interior, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 183 779383
• Dr Abdelmuneim Osman Mohamed Taha, Advisory Council for Human Rights, Rapporteur, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 183 77 08 83
• 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, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 124, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Tel.:0032 (2) 647 51 59 / 0032 (2) 647 94 94, Fax: 0032 (2) 648 34 99, Email: sudanbx@yahoo.com

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

Geneva, 23 May 2008

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