Sudan: Arbitrary detention/Torture

 Case SDN 250399

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT 
intervention in the following situation in Sudan.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat has just been informed of acts of 
harassment, arbitrary detention and torture of two students, Mr. Adam 
Issa Mohamed and Mr. Ahmed Izzeldeen in Sudan.

According to the Sudanese Victims of Torture Group (SVTG), a member 
of the OMCT network, on Saturday 21 March 1999, Mr. Adam Issa 
Mohamed (a fourth year student of economics at Omdurman Islamic 
University and member of the student branch of the Ansar Order of 
Islam), was picked-up by eight members of the security forces and NIF 
Student Militias in front of the canteen of the university hostel at 
Omdurman Islamic University.  He was taken away in a pick-up car to a 
building behind the Mortgage Bank in Omdurman where he was 
allegedly subjected to ill-treatment and torture.   He was found 
unconscious in a street later that day.  

On the same day, Mr. Ahmed Izzeldeen (a second year law student at 
Omdurman Islamic University and member of the student branch of the 
Ansar Order of Islam), was picked-up by 18 members of the security 
forces and NIF student militias in front of the university hostel at 2 pm. It 
is alleged that he was taken blindfolded to an unknown destination, 
apparently in the desert, west of  Omdurman, where he was subjected to 
ill-treatment and torture.  As in the previous case, he was left 
unconscious near a sewage pipe in  the Kafoury Area in Khartoum 
North, and found by the care-taker of a building nearby. 

According to the information, many students have been the object of 
continued harassment, arbitrary detention and torture by the NIF student 
militias  under the protection of the security forces.  

Action requested

Please write to the authorities of Sudan urging them to

i.  guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Adam 
    Issa Mohamed and Mr. Ahmed Izzeldeen;

ii. carry out a throughout and impartial investigation into the 
    events above described, particularly the illegal actions of the 
    student militia and its connection with the security forces,  and 
    bring those responsible to trial and apply the penal, civil, and/or 
    administrative sanctions provided by law in accordance with 
    international human rights standards;

ii. ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and 
    fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human 
    rights standards.


Addresses

His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of 
the Republic of Sudan, People's Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan.
Telex 22385 PEPLC SD or 22411 KAID SD - Fax (+249 11) 71 7 24

Mr. Abd al-Basit Sabdarat, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, 
Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan.  Telex 22459 KHRJA SD or 22461 
KHRJA SD (via Ministry of Foreign Affairs) - Fax (+249 11) 740 63

Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan.  Telex 22459 KHRJA SD
or 22461 KHRJA SD - Fax (+249 11) 740 63

The Diplomatic Representatives of Sudan in your country.

Geneva - 25 March 1999

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.