Case SDN 060902
Arbitrary arrests / Incommunicado detention / Torture / Risk of
torture / Releases

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,
that around 150 activists belonging to Sudan's opposition have been
arrested during the past two weeks in Khartoum, Kodofan, Wad Medani
and North Darfour. Many of them are now reportedly being detained
incommunicado and OMCT fears that they risk being subjected to
torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
during their detention. OMCT is also gravely concerned that these
persons may not receive fair trials and that due process will not be
respected, potentially leading to harsh sentences being handed down.

According to the information received, the Sudanese Government
arrested the following members of the Popular National congress Party
- led by Mr. Hassan Al Turabi - who are accused of trying to
undermine the Sudanese authorities' attempts of peace negotiations
aimed at ending Sudan's civil war. Peace talks broke down on Monday
September 2nd, 2002, reportedly after rebel forces from Southern
Sudan occupied the town of Torit. The members of the PNC were accused
of planning "acts of sabotage to create a state of instability and
general chaos to impede the current peace march and drag the country
into a field of killing and destruction". According to the Sudanese
Government, they have seized arms, explosives and documents from the
members of the PNC, and the authorities claim that the PNC was
planning to sabotage government talks and kill government officials.
None of the detainees, however, have been charged with any offence.

According to the information received, the Government-controlled
press in Sudan stated that a number of these arrests took place
following a demonstration by PNC members, during which the home of
the ruling National Congress Secretary General, Professor Ibrahim
Ahmed Omar, was reportedly attacked. On Sunday August 25th, a
Khartoum newspaper Akhbar Al Youm ('Today's News'), which is known to
have links with the authorities, alleged that "documents were found
with the suspects outlining their plans to abduct the NC Secretary
General and hold him as a hostage in exchange for the release of Dr
Hassan Al Turabi." An attack on the home of Ahmed Awad Al Jaz
(Minister for Energy and Mining) also took place on Thursday August
29th, when demonstrators reportedly threw teargas, and were heard
chanting PNC slogans.

According to the information received, on August 28th 2002, some 38
activists were arrested and detained. The following list of details
concerns 27 of those arrested, while the names and whereabouts of the
remaining 11 persons is still unknown.

The following 7 people were arrested in Khartoum: Deputy to the
General Secretary of the PNC Abdalla Hassan Ahmed; Secretary of
Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Alsanosi; Secretary of Culture and PNC
spokesperson Mohamed Alamin Khalifa; Member of the PNC leadership
Sidideiq al-Ahmar; Mohamed Idris; Suleiman Jamous; and Anas
Alzamzami. According to the information received, on August 30th
2002, Mohamed Alamin Khalif and Ibrahim Alsanosi were transferred to
Port Sudan prison, by the red sea, while the other detainees were
taken to Kober prison. Abdalla Hassan Ahmed and Siddeiq al-Ahmar were
released on August 30th 2002, the day after their arrest. They were
reportedly not given any reasons for their arrest or their release,
nor were they interrogated during their time in detention.

The following 4 men were arrested in Wad Madani: PNC Secretary for
Gazira Province Abdalrahman Amir; Tariq Alaghbash; Ahmed Suleiman;
and Salah Almadani. Separately, Abdullah Alnour was reportedly
arrested in Kodofan.

The following 15 people were arrested in various parts of North
Darfour: PNC Secretary for Darfour Abdalla Aldouma; Mohamed Ibrahim
Zakaria; Osman Ibrahim; Hamza Alhadi Zakaria; Abd alla Adam Ali; M.
Jouhar Suliman; Abd Alrasoul Abd Alla; Alsadiq Adam; Suliman Abakar;
Musadaq Aogal; M. Abd alla Issa; Aldouma Adam Abd Alla; Zakaria Adam;
Malik Sandal; and Sidieg Adam. The whereabouts of those arrested in
Wad Madani, Kodofan and in the various part of Northern Darfour
remain unknown, leading OMCT to have grave concerns for their
physical and psychological integrity. In addition, the names and
whereabouts of about another 100 detainees still remain unknown.

According to the information received, PNC Secretary General Hassan
Al Turabi, has been taken from the building in which he was under
house arrest to Kober Prison, where he is being detained
incommunicado, following a recent presidential decree (see also SDN
180602, SDN 180602.1, SDN 180602.2). The authroties have done this in
order to send a signal to demonstrators to halt their actions,
according to his wife, Wisal al-Mahdi

According to the information received, between August 21st - 24th,
2002, Sudanese Security Forces arrested the following 10 members of
the student and youth leadership
of the Popular National Congress in Omdurman: Naji Dahab, Dr Ibrahim
Abdulrahman, Osama Ilyas, Khalid Al Daw, Haytham Siddig, Nasruddin
Adam, Khalifa Fadl, Osama
Kunnah, Mohammed Awad, Mudathir bdulrahim. The members of the PNC had
allegedly led a protest in Omdurman against the presidential decree
extending Hassan Al
Turabi's house arrest by a further one year. A list containing the
names of 80 wanted persons has also reportedly been distributed by
the Sudanese Security Forces.
According to the information received, on September 1st 2002 the two
students 19-year old Loai Abd Almoniem, Haytham Siddig and a teacher,
Nasruddin Adam, were
sentenced by the Khartoum criminal court to two months in jail, 20
lashes and a fine of 50,000 dinars ($200), and amount which is
unrealistically high. They were charged
with "criminal collaboration, violating public security, public
disturbance and inciting riot." Court Chairman Mohamed Sir al-Khatim
Gharbaw reportedly stated that if the
convicts failed to pay the fine, the convicts would face another
month in jail.

The International Secretariat of OMCT, is gravely concerned about the
physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned
detainees, notably those being detained
incommunicado. OMCT fears that there is a risk that they may be
subjected to torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment, as this has previously been
documented on numerous occasions during the detention of members of
political opposition groups in Sudan. OMCT also condemns the
sentencing of three activists to 20
lashes, which constitutes torture. While OMCT condemns any and all
alleged violent acts on the part of PNC members, it calls for the
rights of all persons that have been
arrested in connection with this affair to be respected, including
the right to a fair trial.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:

i. immediately locate the whereabouts of all persons being detained
incommunicado;
ii. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and
psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned detainees;
iii. order that these persons be released immediately in the absence
of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before
an impartial and competent
tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental
freedoms, including economic, social and cultural rights, throughout
the country in accordance with
national laws and international human rights laws and standards.

Addresses
· His Excellency Lieutenant Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the
Republic of Sudan, People's Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax:
+ 24911 787676 /
783223.
· His Excellency Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan,
Fax: + 24911 779383.
· 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:
[email protected]

Please also write to the diplomatic representatives of Sudan in your
country.

Geneva, September 6th, 2002

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