منظمة Front Line ممثلة في رئيسة جمهورية آيرلندا تمنح دكتور مضوي إبراهيم آدم جائزة غيابـبـاً

Quote: Sudan: Wife and Young Daughter of Arrested Sudanese Human Rights Defender Receive Award from President Mary McAleese on his Behalf The wife and young daughter of arrested Sudanese human rights defender, Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam received the inaugural Front Line Award from President McAleese in Dublin today. Dr Mudawi was arrested on Sunday afternoon just hours before he was due to board a flight en route to Ireland. He was selected for the award because of his courageous and inspiring work for human rights in Sudan, including Darfur, which led to him being twice imprisoned in the last year. Reports from Sudan say that his passport has been confiscated and that he has been charged under Articles 53 and 57 of the 1991 Criminal Act for “espionage against the country” and “photographing military areas”. Article 53 carries a potential death penalty or life in prison. Front Line spoke to Dr Mudawi in prison earlier today and he sent the following message to the awards ceremony. "Thank you for your support. I will continue the effort in Sudan to bring democracy and rule of law so that people’s rights are respected. I thank Front Line for exerting pressure to defend human rights defenders and for supporting them. I really appreciate it. I exhort people to support Front Line in this work. I also want to thank the Irish Government for their efforts and ask them to continue. I am grateful for the award and honoured by the presence of the President of Ireland." There has been strong international objection to the detention of Dr Mudawi from the Irish Government, European Union Missions in Sudan, European governments, European Union Members of Parliament and the United Nations Special Representative for Human Rights Defenders. The Seanad passed an All-Party Motion asking for the immediate release of Dr Mudawi and asking the Sudanese authorities to grant him the right to travel to Ireland to receive his award from President McAleese. Both Glenys Kinnock MEP and Proinsias de Rossa MEP have taken action in the European Parliament. The purpose of the Front Line Award is to honour the work of a Human Rights Defender who, through their non-violent work, has made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of Human Rights in the face of considerable personal risk. Dr Mudawi was selected as the winner of the inaugural award by a jury that included Ruairi Quinn TD, Senator Paschal Mooney, Simon Coveney TD MEP and Proinsias de Rossa MEP. Front Line is an Irish based internationally recognized organization that supports and defends human rights defenders at risk. Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam is the Chairperson of the Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO), a voluntary organization created to promote sustainable development and Human Rights. It is engaged in humanitarian activities including providing emergency services in North, South and West Darfur as well as in human rights education and development projects throughout the country. Dr Mudawi, an engineer is 49 years old and is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Khartoum. He is a Director of Lambda Engineering and since 1995 has been involved in the design and manufacture of water supply systems. Dr Mudawi has been previously been arrested by the Sudanese authorities on two occasions. On 24th January 2005, Dr Mudawi was arrested by members of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Agency in North Kordufan. Three days after he was transferred to Khartoum and detained until 3 March 2005. According to the information received Dr Mudawi was held in Khartoum in a ‘ghost house’, a private house used as a secret detention center in Sudan. He went on hunger strike and was transferred to hospital 26 February 2005 and was brought before the Attorney General and charged with "attempting to commit suicide" which could carry a one-year's imprisonment under Article 133 of the 1991 Sudan Penal Code. Front Line believes that such a charge suggests that the Sudanese authorities have failed to find any other offence to charge him with. In 2004 Dr. Mudawi spent seven-months in police custody, having been charged, in connection with his human rights work, of committing offences against the state. Following the hearing of his trial on 7 August 2004, all charges against Dr. Mudawi were dropped and he was released.