Turabi’s wife says government opposed to his release for fear of uprisings

April 3, 2011 (WASHINGTON) — The Sudanese government is keeping leader of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) Hassan Al-Turabi in jail without charges beyond the maximum time allowed under the law for fear that freeing him will trigger a popular uprising, his wife said.

The National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) arrested the opposition leader last January along with more than half a dozen of the party’s figures and have remained in detention ever since. The Sudanese Security Law only allows the government to keep people in jail without referring them to court for no more than 45 days.

A senior official at the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) said last month that Turabi’s arrest was made for security reasons and is not politically motivated.

“[Sudanese President Omer Hassan] Al-Bashir was going to let him go because of the law but Nafie [Ali Nafie the presidential assistant] convinced him not to because this may cause people to take the streets and overthrow the government in light of political changes in the region,” Turabi’s wife Wisal told Sudan Tribune by phone.

“This is against the law. We cannot resort to courts because they will not serve justice. Even the judges of constitutional court do not have the courage to rukle against the government which pay them their salaries,” she added.

There has been attempts by Islamist leaders from Egypt, Palestine and Jordan to convince the Sudanese president to release Turabi but were rejected.

The PCP chief has been in and out of jail since his split from Bashir’s ruling party in 1999/2000. Reasons for his arrests included allegations that he is the main backer of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which is fighting the government in Darfur.

He was also taken into custody last year after he expressed support for surrendering Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of war crimes and genocide he allegedly masterminded in Darfur.

More recently Turabi and his party warned the government of a revolution similar to the ones in Egypt and Tunisia that toppled deeply entrenched regimes.

Turabi’s wife expressed concern over the conditions he is encountering in jail.

“He is 79 years old suffering from high blood pressure that he acquired while in prison last year. He is kept in a very small cell that he can barely fit in,” Wisal said.

“Because of a burst sewer pipes, people in jail have to walk through the sewage creating a very unhealthy environment for anyone let alone someone at his age,” she added.

She called on human right groups to put pressure on Khartoum to release Turabi and other PCP members who were jailed with him.

The UN appointed human rights expert on Sudan Mohamed Chande Othman expressed concern in March about what he described as the violation of fundamental rights and freedom, including freedom of assembly and expression, by law enforcement authorities in north Sudan.

Chande pointed out that the government of Sudan continues to hold in detention a number of opposition figures and anti-government activists without charge or a right to challenge their detention in a court of law. He revealed with regret that the director general of Sudan’s NISS, Mohamed Atta, has refused to meet him to discuss these concerns.

(ST)