Wednesday, January 05, 2005

 

Sudan - one of the world's shames




Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, Ill-treatment and Torture of Children and Adults


World Organization Against Torture (Geneva)
PRESS RELEASE
January 4, 2005
Posted to the web January 4, 2005
Geneva

The International Secretariat of 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 arrest and ill treatment and torture of twenty-four men and three children:

1. Adam Abaker Abdella, 33 Yrs, Tama, Student
2. Alsadig Ibraheam Ahmed, 24 Yrs, Zghawa, Student
3. Ali Mohamed Aldouma Adam, 22 Yrs, Shareefi, Student
4. Ibraheam Mohamed Yahya, 52 Yrs, Felata, Transport Agent
5. Abaker Yahya Omer, 33 Yrs, Fur
6. Abdel Razig Abdel Majeed, 65 Yrs, Fur
7. Fayiz Abdella Yagoyb, 22 Yrs, Fur
8. Adam Ahmed Abaker, 21 Yrs, Hawara
9. Mousa Hassan Abdella, 60 Yrs, Zaghawa, Farmer
10. Mousa Wadi Hassan, 50 Yrs, Zaghawa, Farmer
11. Abdel Hameed Neel Salim, 65 Yrs, Zaghawa
12. Ibraheem Hassan Musa, 58 Yrs, Zaghawa
13. Hassan Ibraheem Mohamed, 70 Yrs, Hawara, Farmer
14. Adam Douda Ismaeal, 52 Yrs, Zaghawa, Farmer
15. Shareif Adam Babikir, 25 Yrs, Tama, Farmer
16. Abdel Haleam Abdella Abaker, 45 Yrs, Birgid
17. Mohamed Ibraheem Tairab, 25 Yrs, Tama
18. Yasir Abdella Musa, 19 Yrs, Zaghawa
19. Moustafa Abaker Ali, 19 Yrs, Berti
20. Emam Ahmed Abdel Aziz, 35 Yrs , Birgid
21. Ahmed Ishag Omer, 45 Yrs, Zaghawa, Teacher
22. Soulieman Adam Tairab, 35 Yrs, Birgid
23. Yahya Abdella Tom, 25 Yrs, Tama
24. Abdel Jebbar Shareif, 20 Yrs, Zaghawa

1. Tarig Dawood Jouma, 12 Yrs, Dajo,
2. Ahmed Yousif Bourma, 10 Yrs, Dajo
3. Musa Ibraheam Mohamed, 17 Yrs, Fur

According to the information received, on 16-17 December 2004, during aerial bombardments on Marla village by the air forces, the armed forces arrested twenty-four men and three children from Marla, Domma, Labado and Belail villages in Nyala province, southern Darfur state.

The men and the children were initially taken into military custody in Nyala where they were detained for 2 days. During the arrest and along the way from Douma and Marla to Nyala, the twenty-four men and three children were allegedly tortured by the armed forces. They were beaten with sticks all over their bodies, flogged on their backs and chests and kicked with military boots on both their faces and sides.

On 19 December 2004, the detainees were moved to Nyala Wasat (central) police station where they were officially charged under articles 51 (Waging War against the State), and 53 (Espionage against the country) of the 1991 Penal Code. On 20 December 2004, the 24 men and 3 children were transferred to Nyala prison where they remain in detention.

SOAT lawyers in Nyala visited the detainees in Nyala Prison and submitted an application to the Attorney General requesting medical examination of the detainees. The medical reports confirm that the men and the children were subjected to torture. The wounded detainees are receiving medical treatment from Amel Medical Centre for Rehabilitation of Torture Victims in Nyala, SOAT partner organisation in Nyala.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned individuals, including children and urges the Sudanese authorities to immediately release them in the absence of legal charges consistent with international law standards.

Regarding the three minors, Tariq Dawood Joumaa, Ahmed Yousif Bourma and Musa Ibraheam Mohamed, OMCT recalls that Sudan, as a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, is bound by the provisions that a child shall only be deprived of liberty "(…) as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time" (Art. 37 (b)), as well as the "guarantee to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law (i) and to have the matter determined without delay by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body in a fair hearing according to law (iii)" (Art. 40, §2.(b)). Moreover under article 37(a), (b) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, "no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment [and that] no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily." OMCT calls on the authorities to launch prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into the allegations of torture and ill treatment in order to find those responsible for any violations of human rights and to bring them to justice. Finally, OMCT calls on the authorities to guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to all victims.

Action Requested

Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:

i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all detainees, in particular Tariq Dawood Joumaa, Ahmed Yousif Bourma and Musa Ibraheam Mohamed;

ii. order the immediate release of all detainees in absence of legal charges consistent with international law standards, or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;

iii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the allegations of ill-treatment and torture, in order to identify those responsible and bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;

iv. guarantee that adequate compensation would be awarded to all victims;

v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses:

· President of the Republic of Sudan,
His Excellency Lieutenant-General Omar Hassan al-Bashir,
President' s Palace,
PO Box 281,
Khartoum, Sudan,
Fax: +24911 771024 / 771651 / 779977

· First Vice-President,
Mr Ali Osman Mohamed Taha,
People's Palace PO Box 281,
Khartoum, Sudan,
Fax : + 249 11 779977 / 771025

· Mr Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin,
Minister of Justice and Attorney General,
Ministry of Justice,
Khartoum, Sudan,
Fax: + 249 11 771479

· Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
PO Box 873,
Khartoum, Sudan,
Fax :+249 11 779383

· Advisory Council for Human Rights,
Dr Yasir Sid Ahmed,
PO Box 302,
Khartoum, Sudan,
Fax: +249 11 779173 / 770883

· Minister of Internal Affairs,
Major General Abdul-Rahim Muhammed Hussein,
Ministry of Interior,
PO Box 281,
Khartoum, Sudan,
Fax: +249 11 774339 / 776554 / 777900 / 773046 / 770186

· Minister of Federal Government,
Dr Nafie Ali Nafie,
Office of the Presidents People's Palace,
PO Box 281,
Khartoum, Sudan,
Fax : +24911 771651 / 783223

· Governor of North Darfur,
General Ibrahim Sulayman,
c/o People's Palace,
PO Box 281,
Khartoum, Sudan,
Fax: +249 731 42696

· 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,
E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int; mission.sudan@bluewin.ch.

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

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


Comments:
Hello Susan. Nice to meet you. Great to see you posting on the Sudan. Thank you for the link under Darfur in your sidebar. Looking forward to catching up on your posts. With best wishes for a peaceful 2005.
 
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