AMNESTY URGENT ACTION: ACTIVIST AND TEACHER FACES DEATH PENALTY

AMNESTY
URGENT ACTION: ACTIVIST AND TEACHER FACES DEATH PENALTY

25 September 2012

Teacher and activist Jalila Khamis Koko, who has been detained for six months in Sudan, was charged on 15 September with five counts of crimes against the state. She faces the death penalty.
Jalila Khamis Koko is a member of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N), an opposition party which was banned in September 2011. She is also Nuba, an ethnic group originating from Southern Kordofan. She was arrested on 15 March 2012 at her home in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, by agents of the National Security Services (NSS). Jalila Khamis Koko was later transferred to the Omdurman prison, where she has been detained since.
Prior to her arrest, Jalila Khamis Koko was volunteering to provide humanitarian support to Internally Displaced People from Southern Kordofan. In June 2011, she appeared in a Youtube video in which she denounced the conditions in conflict-affected areas of Southern Kordofan and called for a ceasefire.
On 15 September Jalila Khamis Koko was summoned by the prosecutor in charge of crimes against the state and by the Khartoum criminal court. She was charged with six criminal counts, five of which fall under the category of crimes against the state, including two which carry the death penalty: “undermining the constitutional order” (article 50 of the 1991 criminal code), “espionage against the country” (article 53), “calling for opposition to public authority by use of violence or criminal force” (article 63), “provoking hatred against or among sects” (article 64), “criminal or terrorist organisations” (article 65), “publication of false news” (article 66) and “joint acts in execution of a criminal conspiracy” (article 21).
The detention of Jalila Khamis Koko appears to be part of a pattern of detention of SPLM-N activists and intellectuals, as well as of individuals of Nuba descent that the Sudanese authorities believe are affiliated to the SPLM-N.
Amnesty International considers Jalila Khamis Koko to be a prisoner of conscience, held solely for her humanitarian work and for the peaceful expression of her views.
Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:
* Urging the authorities release Jalila Khamis Koko immediately and unconditionally;
* Calling on the authorities to ensure Jalila Khamis Koko is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated;

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 6 NOVEMBER 2012 TO:

President
HE Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir
Office of the President
People’s Palace
PO Box 281
Khartoum
Sudan
Fax: +249 183 782 541
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Justice
Mohammed Bushara Dousa
Ministry of Justice,
PO Box 302
Al Nil Avenue,
Khartoum,
Sudan
Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:
Minister of Interior
Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed
Ministry of Interior
PO Box 873
Khartoum,
Sudan

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION
ACTIVIST AND TEACHER FACES DEATH PENALTY
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) split from the southern ruling party Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in February 2011, ahead of South Sudan’s independence. In June 2011, civil conflict broke out in the state of Southern Kordofan between government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army – North, the military wing of the SPLM-N. Fighting expanded to the state of Blue Nile in September 2011. Government forces have been using indiscriminate aerial bombardments on towns and villages, making both states unsafe for civilians.
The Sudanese authorities have arrested numerous real or perceived SPLM-N activists across the country since the breakout of conflict in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. Many have been detained on the basis of their ethnicity, without charge, and access to lawyers or their families.

Name: Jalila Khamis Koko
Gender m/f: Female

UA: 274/12 Index: AFR 54/045/2012 Issue Date: 25 September 2012

UA: 274/12 Index: AFR 54/045/2012 Sudan Date: 25 September 2012