www.AllAfrica.comIll-Treatment and Torture of 3 Members of the Zaghawa Tribe in Nyala, Darfur
World Organization Against Torture (Geneva)
PRESS RELEASE
January 20, 2004
Posted to the web January 20, 2004
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudanese Organization against Torture, a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest and torture of three Sudanese men belonging to the Zaghawa tribe by the security forces in Nyala. According to the information received on 16 January 2004, the three men were arbitrarily arrested and are currently being detained at the security office in Nyala with no official charges having been issued against them.
They include: 1) Yousif Idris, merchant, 33 years old, arrested on 5 January, 2) Salim Idris, merchant, 35 years old, arrested on 6 January ( the two are brothers), and 3) Suleiman, merchant, 40 years old, arrested on 7 January. They have allegedly been subjected to ill- treatment and torture, including beatings, floggings, and having cold water poured on them at night.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned detainees, given the reported ill-treatment and torture to which they have been subjected, and the risk of further treatment of this type that they face while in detention in Nyala.
OMCT calls on the authorities to guarantee the personal integrity of these persons, including the immediate access to appropriate medical assistance as required, and to immediately release them in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards. OMCT continues to be gravely concerned by the impunity with which the Darfur Special Forces' use arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, ill-treatment and torture. OMCT therefore calls upon the authorities to launch an immediate and impartial investigation into these events, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to justice and award adequate reparation to the victims.
Background information
The situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate with approximately 670,000 people having been displaced and many killed due to the ongoing fighting in the region.
Unfortunately, the failure of the peace negotiations in December 2003 between the GoS and the SLA in N'djamena, Chad, has led to the continuation of the conflict in Darfur and the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the region. All parties involved in the conflict; including government sponsored militias and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), have resumed fighting. Also, the new wave of arbitrary arrests can be seen as a response to the failure in resolving the conflict. Due to the GoS imposing severe restrictions on humanitarian relief organisations the refugees are being placed in extreme danger. The GoS has also restricted the media from reporting on the conflict from within Darfur.
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 Yousif Idris, Salim Idris, and Suleiman, who are being held in Nyala;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the arbitrary arrests and the alleged use of torture, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
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