write to the sudanese authorities protesting illegal arrest

Case SDN 02B1003
Risk to personal integrity

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

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a Sudanese
Organisation against Torture, a member of the OMCT network, of the
arrest, detention and concerns for the personal integrity of Osman
Ahmed Fagharay, a Beja tribe member, in Sudan.

According to the information received, on Saturday, September 28th,
2003, the National Security Agency (NSA) arrested 54-year-old Osman
Ahmed Fagharay, who is a member of the Beja tribe. He was arrested at
an unknown location and then taken to his house in Shambat Alaradi,
Khartoum North. He changed clothes and informed his family that he
was under arrest by the security agents. At 8 p.m. he was permitted
to call his family and informed them that he was well. He told them
that he was being questioned at the NSA offices and would likely be
released on the same day or early the next day. Mr. Fagharay has not
yet been released. Furthermore, Mr. Fagharay suffers from diabetes
and does not have his medication with him. Reports indicate that Mr.
Fagharay's son has taken him his medicine, but it is unclear as yet
whether the security forces have allowed it to be delivered to him.

Mr. Fagharay is a retired Police Chief from Al a'Mra'ar, one of the
clans belonging to the Beja tribe in eastern Sudan, and a former
administrator of the Red Sea province during the late 1980s. He was
arrested following his participation in a symposium at Alnilain
University, which was organised by the Beja Students Association,
where he criticised the health, economic and food security policies
in the Red Sea province and demanded action by the government.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is concerned for Mr. Fagharay's
physical and psychological integrity, given his medical condition and
the risk that he runs of being subjected to ill-treatment or
potentially torture while in detention. OMCT therefore urges the
authorities to guarantee his integrity at all times and ensure that
Mr. Fagharay has immediate access to appropriate medical assistance,
notably his medication. Furthermore, OMCT calls on the authorities to
immediately release him in the absence of valid legal charges that
are consistent with international law and standards.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:

i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and
psychological integrity of Mr. Fagharay;
ii. guarantee his immediate access to appropriate medical assistance,
notably medication for diabetes;
iii. order his immediate release in the absence of legal charges that
are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such
charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal
and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental
freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and
international human rights standards.

Addresses

· President of the Republic of Sudan, His Excellency Lieutenant-
General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President' s Palace, PO Box 281,
Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +24911 771651/783223/779977

· First Vice-President, Mr Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, People's Palace PO
Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax : +249 11 771651/ 779977

· Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mr Ali Mohamed Osman
Yassin, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 11
771479/774842/774906

· Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax :+249 11 779383

· Advisory Council for Human Rights, Dr Yasir Sid Ahmed, PO Box 302,
Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 11 779173/770883

· Minister of Internal Affairs, Major General Abdul-Rahim Muhammed
Hussein, Ministry of Interior, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249
11
774339/776554/777900/773046/770186

· Minister of Federal Government, Dr Nafie Ali Nafie, Office of the
Presidents People's Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax : +24911
771651/783223

· His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent
Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO
Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 731 26 56, E-mail:
[email protected]; [email protected].

Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective
country.

Geneva, October 2nd, 2003

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
8 rue du Vieux-Billard
Case postale 21
CH-1211 Geneve 8
Suisse/Switzerland
Tel. : 0041 22 809 49 39
Fax : 0041 22 809 49 29
E-mail : [email protected]
http://www.omct.org