UN rights expert urges trial or release of Darfur activists and journalists
December 17, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – UN rights independent expert today called on the Sudanese government to release eleven rights activists and journalists from Darfur region or to bring them before a court, six weeks after their detention.
“I am concerned that the arrests and detentions of these eleven persons may be linked to their legitimate activities in defense of human rights, said Mohammed Chande Othman, UN expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan on Friday.
Sudanese security services arrested eleven activists and journalists, between 30 October and 3 November of this year, who are part of the Human Rights and Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND), among them Jaafar Subki Ibrahim, who works for Al-Sahafa daily newspaper.
The Sudanese authorities said the eleven were acting as a base for the Netherlands-based Radio Dabanga which is accused of inciting hatred and broadcasting fabricated reports. The security service further accuse the detainees of being members of Darfur rebel groups working for the International Criminal Court.
Othmane, in a statement released on Friday, urged the Sudanese government to respect its international obligations and to promptly bringing the activists who are from Darfur region before a court of law or to release them.
“Sudan has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Covenant’s guarantees of freedom of expression and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention are an integral part of the Bill of Rights of the Interim National Constitution of the Sudan,” he said.
The Tanzanian expert renewed his concern “about the increasingly difficult situation for human rights defenders across the country, particularly at this crucial moment as the Sudan prepares for its historic referendum on self determination for the people of Southern Sudan.”
Appointed on November 1, 2009, Othmane serves in his individual capacity, independently from any government or organization. He worked previously as Prosecutor-General in East Timor. He was also a member of the High Level Commission of Inquiry on Lebanon and Chief of Prosecutions at the Arusha-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
(ST)