The Human Rights Actions Network
www.derechos.org/human-rights/actions/
ACTION REQUEST
Case SDN 200499
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT
intervention in the following situation in Sudan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secreetariat of OMCT has just been informed of the
arrest of three journalists, Mr. Mohamed Abd Alseed, Mr. Mutasim
Mahmoud and Ms. Maha Hassan Ali, in Sudan.
According to the Sudanese Victims of Torture Group (SVTG), a member
of the OMCT network, on April 14 1999, at 8.45 p.m., Mr. Mohamed Abd
Alseed, aged 53, was reportedly arrested by five security officers at his
home in Al Kalakla, a town in the District of Khartoum. He is the
corespondent of Alsharaq Alawsat, a London Based Arabic daily
newspaper. It has been reported that Mr Alseed needs regular medicine
for a medical condition. His wife, being unable to ascertain his
whereabouts, has been unable to supply the needed medicine.
On April 17 1999, Mr. Mutasim Mahmoud, chief editor of the Political
Section of Al Ray Alaam, the daily paper in Khartoum, was arrested and
his whereabouts remain unknown.
On April 18 1999, Ms Maha Hassan was arrested at her home in Al
Kalakla, a town in the District of Khartoum, and up to April 19 1998, her
whereabouts remained unknown. She is a journalist who works at the
national News Section in the Sudan News Agency (SUNA).
According to the reports, a few days before the arrests, pro-government
papers undertook a wide hostile campaign against journalists. They
claimed that in Sudan, there is a network of journalists working as
agents of a foreign country.
Torture and ill treatment of detainees are systematic in Sudanese
Security detention facilities and given the circumstances of the detention
of the three persons mentioned above, the International Secretariat of
OMCT shares the concerns of SVTG for their safety and integrity.
Action requested
Write to the Sudanese authorities urging them to
i. immediately establish the whereabouts of Mr. Mohamed Abd
Alseed, Mr. Mutasim Mahmoud and Ms. Maha Hassan Ali and
guarantee their physical and psychological integrity;
ii. order their immediate release if they are held in detention
without valid charges or, in the event that they have been
charged, ensure their right to a fair and impartial trial, their
procedural rights and their right to legal counsel at all times;
iii.take all necessary measures to guarantee the right to hold
opinions and the right to freedom of expression;
iv. guarantee all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
conform their actions to the international standards established
in the international covenants ratified by Sudan, particularly the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as
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, 20 April 1999
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