Case SDN 270303
Arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention / Risk of torture

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 received information from
the Sudan Organization Against Torture, a member of the OMCT network,
regarding the arrest and incommunicado detention of Mohamed Al Wasila
Abbas and Yasir Mohamed Al Hassan Osman.

According to the information received, on the evening of March 23,
2003, Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas, 37, was arrested by twelve armed
security personnel from the National Security Agency. Mohamed, a
graduate of Khartoum University, was reportedly arrested from his
house in Arkawiet, Khartoum. The officers allegedly searched his
house and the houses of his neighbours. According to the information
received, Mohamed was then arrested along with his relative, Rashid,
who lives in the same house as Mohamed, and a neighbor named Ali. No
reasons were given for the arrests.

According to the information received, Mohamed is currently being
detained incommunicado, giving rise to fears that he is being
subjected to ill-treatment or torture, while Rashid and Ali were
released on the same day as their arrest, March 23rd. Mohamed Al
Wasila is reportedly married to Salwa Saeid, a well-known lawyer and
human rights defender, however she was outside the country at the
time of her husband's arrest.

It is also reported that another arbitrary arrest occurred in
Khartoum on March 22, 2003. According to the information received,
Yasir Mohamed Al Hassan Osman was arrested at 10pm from the Faculty
of Medicine at Khartoum University where he works. After his arrest
Yasir was reportedly taken to the political section of the security
forces offices near Farough cemetery in Khartoum. Yasir is reportedly
being detained incommunicado, and consequently runs a heightened risk
of being subjected to ill-treatment or torture. Furthermore, security
officers told his family that they were not allowed to visit him
because he was under interrogation.

According to our sources, Yasir had previously been arrested during
the October 2002 student's uprising. On October 19th, 2002, eleven
students were arrested during the demonstrations, including Yasir
Mohamed El Hassan Osman, who was tortured while in detention.
According to the information received, security officers stood on his
chest and bladder, and beat him with an iron bar until he was
unconscious. He was taken to the intensive care unit at Khartoum
hospital immediately after his release.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned with the
arrests and incommunicado detention of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and
Yasir Mohamed Al Hassan Osman. OMCT fears for their physical and
psychological integrity because they are being detained
incommunicado, with the heightened risk of torture that this
presents. OMCT calls on the Sudanese Government to locate their
whereabouts, guarantee their personal integrity, allow them to
receive visits by their families and legal representation, release
them in the absence of valid legal charges, launch an investigation
into their arrests and subsequent treatment and guarantee that they
receive appropriate reparation for any injuries sustained during this
time.

Action Requested

Please write to the authorities in Sudan and urge them to:

i. immediately locate the whereabouts of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas;
ii. take all necessary measures to ensure the physical and
psychological integrity of Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and Yaser Mohamed
Al Hassan Osman;
iii. allow both men to receive family visits and access to legal
representation;
iv. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal
charges, or if legitimate charges exist, bring them before an
impartial tribunal and guarantee procedural
rights at all times;
v. launch a prompt and impartial investigation into the circumstances
of their arrests and subsequent treatmen, identify those responsible
bring them before a civil
competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or
administrative sanctions provided by law;
vi. guarantee adequate reparation to Mohamed Al Wasila Abbas and
Yaser Mohamed Al Hassan Osman
vii. 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: + 24911
783223
· Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney
General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911 788941
· Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911 779383
· Mr. Yasir Sid Ahmed, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302,
Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 24911 779173
· His Excellency Ambassador Mr Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent
Mission of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211
Geneva, Switzerland, Fax : +4122 7312656. E-mail:
[email protected]

In addition, please write to the Sudanese embassies in your
respective country.

Geneva, March 27th, 2003

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

Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
8 rue du Vieux-Billard
Case postale 21
CH-1211 Geneve 8
Suisse/Switzerland
Tel. : 0041 22 809 49 39
Fax : 0041 22 809 49 29
E-mail : [email protected]
http://www.omct.org