June 26: The International Day for Torture Survivors

In the following days leading to the United Nation's day for surviors of torture, I will be posting some materials from the US-based Group Against torture in Sudan (GATS)
Here is the first one;



Quote: GATS Calls For The Elimination of Sharia Penal Codes المجموعة السودانية لمناهضة التعذيب The Group against Torture in Sudan (GATS) - 4521 Baltimore Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (USA) Nagi Marghani: Secretary General 571-435-0657 ; [email protected] Mohamed al-Hafiz: Deputy Secretary General 202-421-7522 Dr_mo78@yahoo. Mohamed Elgadi: Communication Coordinator 215-870-7809 [email protected] GATS Calls For The Elimination of Sharia Penal CodesFor Immediate Release 12/29/2010 Washington, D.C.-The Group Against Torture in Sudan (GATS) has been following with extreme worry the human rights abuses taking place in Sudan. This most recently culminated in the widely circulated Youtube video of a young woman being publicly flogged in Khartoum. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, established by the United Nations in 1948, stood as a landmark for the human experience and the pursuit of an existence free of torture. This flogging incident represented the oppression and aggression of the Islamist regime where torture found its justification through the rules of religious dogma, specifically the Hudood penal code in Sharia Laws. As torture survivors and pioneer advocates against torture, we see a direct link between the current government and the torture policies adopted by its judicial system. There is an immediate need to expose and eliminate the practices of institutionalized torture, in which those who commit these heinous crimes are celebrated as loyal guardians of the state. GATS reiterates the value of the human body and the importance to preserve it from any physical aggression or violations regardless of political and religious ideologies. In response to the public’s outcry against the flogging, President Omar al-Bashir publicly stated his support for the police’s brutal actions. This confirms the failed state of the government and its leader’s consistent advocacy for allocating physical punishment through its narrow minded religious doctrine called the ‘civilization project’. GATS firmly rejects the inclusion of the religious pineal code in the current constitution of the country. We consider any advocacy of the Islamic Hudood legislation as full support of the current torture atrocities. It is also worth mentioning that the Sharia Laws are not a sacred document but rather a series of laws that represented the needs of the Muslim community during the 7th century. In conclusion we condemn the attempts to break the spirit of women in Sudan and the attacks against freedom of expression. These attempts were emphasized with the degrading flogging punishment against the woman in the Youtube video, the violent police attack on the peaceful women’s march organized by “No to Women’s Oppression” forum in Khartoum that followed the circulation of the video. And most recently, the aggressive attack on the Umma Party headquarters where civilians were gathered to discuss the deterioration of human rights in Sudan. We hereby call upon all social, political, and none governmental organizations to take a stand and to protect all persons from being subjected to torture and any form of cruel, inhumane, and degrading punishment and treatment. We urge all groups to eliminate from their charters, constitutions and programs the Hudood penal code and to include/promote in their documents the principles of Human Rights.

Arabic Forum