Jailed Sudanese opposition leader’s health deteriorating
By: Wasil Ali
July 28, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese government allowed the son of a jailed opposition leader to visit him for the first time since his arrest.
A statement issued by Al-Fadil‘s office said that his eldest son Yusuf visited him in prison last Wednesday in the headquarters of Sudan’s security services.
Al-Fadil’s family and attorneys filed numerous visit requests since his arrest two weeks ago but were all turned down.
The statement alleged that Sudanese security services denied medical attention to Al-Fadil. The latter was supposed to undergo some tests on the day of his arrest.
According to the statement Al-Fadil suffers from stomach and colon problems requiring a strict diet not available in prison. As a result Al-Fadil “lost so much weight”.
The former presidential assistant was arrested along with a number of retired army generals, including retired general Mohamed Ali Hamid, who worked as deputy director of security in the late eighties, as well as former minister of tourism, Abdeljalil al-Basha.
However Al-Fadil told his son that he does not know where the arrested members of his party are jailed. The statement quoted al-Fadil as saying that he is imprisoned in a single cell with no access to media.
Sudan banned all media reporting on the case of 17 people accused of trying to overthrow the government.
The government issued a decree establishing a commission to investigate the allegations against Al-Fadil and the other detainees. However members of the committee said that they have not been officially informed of their selection.
Dr. Sima Samar, the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan who is currently visiting Sudan, raised the issue of Al-Fadil with Sudanese officials.
Al-Fadil was appointed as a presidential adviser for economic affairs in 2002 but was sacked after making contacts with the United States without Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir’s consent.
(ST)