Sudanese rights group call to abolish death penalty

April 15, 2009 — The Sudan Human Rights Organization regrets the continuous resort of Sudanese Courts to inflict death sentences on the accused in cases seriously flawed in the due process of law.

The sentences passed over 10 members of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) accused of high treason, armed attack, and other allegations by a private court yesterday April 15, 2009, in Khartoum are accusations based in the first place on political reasons.

The trials have been largely influenced by prior condemnation of the accused by the government media and security pressures, at the expense of the right of the accused to public trial, legal visitation and consultation, etc, clearly noted by specialized human rights and international groups.

The number of days allowable for appeals is inadequate. The legal protest of the defense lawyers regarding the tortures of the accused by government forces has been unlawfully ignored by the court in both pre-trial and trial procedures.

The Government of Sudan is strongly urged to abolish the death penalty, which has been excessively used in trials particularly targeting the African-descent ethnic groups of Darfur by executive and judicial authorities of the State.

The tendency of courts to intimidate Darfuri activism is a serious political intrusion that continues to abort Independence of the Judiciary, as well as the human rights of people in contact with the law.

SHRO-Cairo urges the Sudanese Judiciary to maintain an independent status in compliance with the Interim Constitution, free of executive influences whether by security pressures or by media campaigns.

The Organization urges the competent authorities to order new trials for the Darfuri accused people that have been placed under quasi-military private trials by the political will of the government.

Fair trials for the accused persons, regardless of ethnic origins or political stands, should guarantee the rights of defense teams to ensure the due process of justice by full application of the international and constitutional norms in court jurisdiction on equal basis with the legal concerns of judges to guarantee fair prosecution of cases by the due process of law.