Darfur: Incommunicado detention and torture of alleged SLA Sympathisers
SOAT
On 13 August 2005, officers from the Military Intelligence arrested three men from their homes in Zalingei, Southern Darfur State on suspicion of supporting the rebel opposition group, Sudan Liberation Army (SLA). The men were taken to the military intelligence custody centre in Zalingei where they remain in detention and are facing no charges. The details of the detainees are as follows:
1. Issa Fadul Dawalbeit, (30 yrs), Fur tribe, Farmer
2. Ramadan Altahir Ateam, (19 yrs), Fur, Driver Assistant
3. Mohamed Zakarea Hassan, (35yrs), Fur, Farmer
According to the detainees’ families who were initially allowed to visit them, the detainees have been subjected to torture and sustained serious injuries. The detainees have reportedly been beaten with water hoses, kicked with feet, flogged and beaten with hands all over their bodies. The detainees’ families are now denied access.
After the family reported the incident to SOAT’s partner organisation, the Amel Medical Centre for Rehabilitation of Torture Victims in Nyala, SOAT’s network of lawyers in Zalingei submitted an application to the Security Committee in Zalingei Province requesting access to the detainees to provide legal assistance. The Committee rejected the application and denied the lawyers access to the detainees
SOAT expresses fears for the safety of the detainees and calls upon the government of Sudan (GoS) to ensure that the men are allowed access to medical treatment, to legal counsel and to give assurances that they will not be subjected to further torture or ill-treatment.
SOAT strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of these men and calls on the government of Sudan to:
1. Investigate the arrest and torture of all the detainees and ensure that the perpetrators are brought before an impartial tribunal and guaranteed procedural rights at all times;
2. Take all necessary measures to ensure the physical and psychological integrity of all the detainees;
3. Immediately release all the detainees 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;
4. Allow all the detainees immediate access to legal advice; to their families and to medical treatment;
5. Immediately cease its campaign of intimidation and harassment of persons in the Darfur region and to respect international humanitarian law and to end impunity for crimes committed by the government security forces;
6. Guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of association throughout Sudan in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards;
– SOAT is an international human rights organisation established in the UK in 1993. If you have any questions about this or any other SOAT information, please contact us:
Argo House
Kilburn Park Road
London NW6 5LF, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7625 8055
Fax: +44 (0)20 7372 2656
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.soatsudan.org