Amnesty welcomes release of political prisoners in Sudan

LONDON, Oct. 14, 2003 (dpa) — Amnesty International Tuesday welcomed the release by the Sudanese government of political prisoners, including Popular National Congress leader Hassan Abdalla Turabi.

The London-based human rights organization said it nevertheless remained concerned at legislation which allows prolonged incommunicado detention without charge and which has been repeatedly used in the past few months in Darfur, western Sudan.

“By releasing political prisoners, the Sudanese government signals a greater respect for the fundamental civil and political rights of individuals,” Amnesty said.

It called on Sudan to abolish Article 31 of the National Security Forces Act allowing the security forces to detain people incommunicado for up to nine months without charge.

Amnesty called on the Sudanese government to account for incommunicado detentions in Darfur, noting that many community leaders of Fur, Zaghawa or Masalit ethnicity had been detained on suspicion of supporting the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), a new armed opposition group in the region.

“According to international human rights law, anyone detained must have access to relatives, lawyers and medical care if needed, and must be promptly charged with a recognizable criminal offence or else released,” it said.