Merowi dam affected people sue Sudan security in Constitutional Court
25 April, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — An organization of Merowi dam affected people has sued Sudanese security service in the constitutional court for arresting incommunicado without charge six of its members.
The Manasir Association Executive Committee (MAEC) of the affected people from Manasir Merowi Dam area has submitted complain to the Constitutional Court against the national security apparatus. The spokesperson of the MAEC Mohamed Kheir said on Wednesday that the committee has asked for compensations of one million Sudanese Pounds for every detainee.
The spokesperson of the committee urged for immediate release of the six detainees saying that this detention is contrary to article 48 of the interim constitution protecting the human rights and fundamental freedom.
Kheir said that the legal advisor of the affected people asked the constitutional court for compensating of their rights. He stressed that the detainees should be immediately released.
NAMES OF MAEC DETAINEES
Osman Al Magdum (m), 71 years old, Deputy Head of the Manasir Association Executive Committee (MAEC), Abdelrahman Zaidan (m), Deputy Head of the MAEC, Abdelatti Abdelkhair (m), member of the MAEC, Hassan Sidiq Atolabi (m), Member of the MAEC, Haitham Aldusogi (m), Member of the MAEC and Ahmed Abdelfatah Gabriel (m).
The men named above, according to MAEC spokesperson are being held incommunicado without charge in Kober prison in the capital, Khartoum and that they are at risk of torture and ill-treatment.
On 29 March plain clothed national security officers arrested the men named above at their homes in Khartoum. Torture or ill-treatment of people arrested by the police or the national security forces is often reported in Sudan, particularly when those detained are not given access to the outside world.
Emergency laws have allowed the Sudanese security forces to detain people indefinitely, without charge or trial. Article 31 of the 1999 National Security Forces Act, which allows the security forces to detain people for up to nine months without access to judicial review, is still in place.
The Manasir Association was formed by members of the Manasir community to campaign on behalf of community members threatened with displacement during and after construction of the Merowe High Dam in northern Sudan.
In 2004 the Sudanese government began the construction of the Merowe High Dam, also known as Hamadab Dam, in northern Sudan, about 350 km north of the capital Khartoum. The Merowe High Dam is one of the largest hydropower projects in Africa.
However, local populations were not consulted regarding the planning process and the impact it will have on their communities. There has been much protest and condemnation of the project, including loss of land for the local population, environmental damage to the area and destruction of archaeological sites.
The project has led to the relocation, in come cases forcibly, and displacement of local communities. When the project is completed in 2008, more than 50,000 people will have been relocated or displaced from their homes and lands.