Mass arrests and reports of torture in Khartoum following JEM attacks

May 15, 2008 — The Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) calls on all parties to show restraint and to respect human rights amid signs of a brutal crackdown on Darfuris and others in and around Khartoum following the attacks carried out by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) near the city over the weekend.

Reports suggest that hundreds of people have been arrested and detained in unknown locations in the wake of the attacks. The situation in Khartoum remained confused and tense following the fighting, with roadblocks in place in many areas. One Sudanese human rights defender reported that in the course of a journey of less than twenty miles into Khartoum from Ombdurman – a neighbouring city which was the scene of much of the fighting – on 12 May, the bus she was travelling on was stopped more than 15 times.

Members of the police and the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) are reportedly targeting Darfuris, particularly those of Zaghawa ethnicity, and others who bear a physical resemblance to people from the region. In addition, there has been a wave of arrests of members of the unregistered Popular Congress Party (PCP) led by Dr Hassan al-Turabi, the Islamist ideologue who was in the past very close to the regime but has since been accused of links with JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim. Dr al-Turabi himself was detained and questioned for several hours but was released following international pressure.

Journalists who have visited the Ombada and Omdurman hospitals in recent days reported meeting individuals there who had been detained by police and NISS agents and subjected to physical abuse in custody. They had apparently been arrested because they were of Darfuri origin and were not in possession of identity cards. Individuals who had faced physical abuse in custody were said to include children between the ages of 14 and 17. Some journalists who sought to interview people in hospitals were prevented from doing so and threatened by police and security agents. Doctors, nurses and other medical staff confirmed that individuals arrested in the crackdown had apparently been subjected to severe physical abuse in custody, in some cases even before being questioned.

Individual Darfuris known by SOAT to have been arrested in the crackdown include the following:

1) Adem Ali Shurtai (25 years old, from the Fur tribe, detained on 11 May)
2) Alnour Ali Adem (35, Fur, detained on 11 May)
3) Mohmed Adem Yagoyb (24, from the Zaghawa tribe, detained on 11 May)
4) Yagoub Ahmed Ali (30, Zaghawa, detained on 11 May)
5) Mohmedain Elnour (35, Fur, detained on 11 May)
6) Ibrahim Mohmed Adem (22 years old, detained on 11 May)
7) Suliman Eshag Ahmed (23 years old, detained on 11 May)
8) Abakr Haroun Ali (25 years old, detained on 11 May)
9) Mohmed Adem Yagoub (24 years old, Zaghawa, detained on 11 May)
10) AbdAlrahman Ahmed Jabir (36, Fur, detained on 11 May)
11) Amin Mahmoud Osman (Fur, brother of high-profile human rights activist and parliamentarian Salih Mahmoud Osman, detained from his home in Omdurman)

The following members of the PCP are also known to have been arrested:

1) Khatir Jaly Fourawi (Fur tribe)
2) Ahmed Altahir Hamdon
3) Al-Nagi Abdullah (also known as Al-Nagi Dahab, employed in an administrative role at Rai al-Sha’ab newspaper)
4) Abubkr Abdalrazeg
5) Albusairy
6) Hassen Gubara
7) Tageldien Banaga
8) Ibrahim Abd Elrhman
9) Dr Bashir Adam Rahman
10) Hassan Satti

The authorities have also stepped up censorship of the media in the wake of the attacks. Since 6 February security agents have been visiting newspaper offices on a daily basis in order to review the contents of each prior to publication and order the removal or amendment of articles considered too sensitive. In the past days, these measures have been intensified. The censors are focusing in particular on articles that criticise the government or which refer to human rights violations perpetrated by state officials, including arbitrary detention and torture.

SOAT calls on the Sudanese authorities to:

Ø Allow all detainees immediate and unrestricted access to family, legal advice and any medical treatment that they need

Ø Order the immediate release of all 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

Ø Conduct impartial and transparent investigations into all allegations of abuse in custody and bring to justice all suspected perpetrators

Ø Guarantee respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout Sudan in accordance with the Interim National Constitution and international human rights standards.

For more information please contact:

Sudan Organisation Against Torture
Argo House
Kilburn Park Road
London
NW6 5LF
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7625 8055
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7372 2656

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.soatsudan.org