لحـظـة مـن فضـلك!

Quote: PUBLIC AI Index: AFR 54/020/2006 UA 153/06 Fear of Torture/ Incommunicado detention 1 June 2006 SUDAN Mohamed Osman Mohamed (m) aged 21 yrs, Otash IDP camp Ibrahim Siddiq Ali (m), Kalma IDP camp Halima Adam Ibrahim (f), Kalma IDP camp Yagoub Ismail Mohamed (m), Kalma IDP camp Habib Adam Yagoub, (m) aged 37 from Fur ethnic group, Kalma IDP camp Ismail Mohamed Hamid (m) aged 40 yrs, Fur ethnic group, Kalma IDP camp Two others from Otash IDP Camp and at least 20 others from Kalma IDP Camp Scores of people including dozens of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have been detained over the past few weeks in several towns in Darfur. They were protesting against the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) and many of them, including those named above, are still being held incommunicado where they are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. On 29 May, security officers and central reserve police officers fired live ammunition into a crowd of protestors in Otash IDP Camp near Nyala in South Darfur. Mohamed Osman Mohamed and two others from the camp were arrested. On the same day, scores of demonstrators, including Ibrahim Siddiq Ali, Yagoub Ismail Mohamed, Halima Adam Ibrahim and at least other 10 women were attacked and arrested as they carried a memorandum from Kalma IDP Camp, near Nyala, to the office of the United Nations in Nyala expressing their concerns about the DPA. A total of 21 demonstrators were charged at Nyala Central Police Station with offences against the State under Article 50 (Undermining the Constitutional System) and Article 51 (Waging War against the State) of the 1991 Penal Code. Article 51 carries the possibility of the death penalty. An unknown number of other demonstrators are being held without charge or access to family and lawyers by member’s National Security Agency (NSA). Habib Adam Yagoub and Ismail Mohamed Hamid were arrested on their way from Kalma camp to Nyala by an unidentified armed group in military uniform, believed to be Sudanese Security Forces on 29 May. Their whereabouts are unknown. BACKGROUND INFORMATION On 5 May, the government of Sudan and one of the rebel factions of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), led by Minni Minawi (from the Zaghawa ethnic group), signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) under the auspices of the African Union and with support of the international community. Two groups, including the other faction of the SLA, led by Abdel Wahed Mohamed Nur (from the Fur ethnic group- the largest ethnic group in Darfur), and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), led by Khalil Ibrahim, did not sign the DPA. Although the content of the DPA is not widely known about in Darfur it is generally not supported because many of those displaced by the conflict are not convinced that it will give them compensation and security to return home. Many also feel excluded and believe their concerns were not addressed. During the month of May a number of IDP camps and towns in Darfur staged demonstrations against the agreement. In some cases the riots have led to killings and arrests. At least nine people were detained in Kass, South Darfur, on 15 May and more than 21 people were detained in Zalingei, West Darfur, on 22 May during demonstrations against the DPA. Subsequently, they have all been released. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Arabic, English or your own language: - expressing concern for the safety of all those detained during May for demonstrating against the Darfur Peace Agreement including those named above; - calling on the authorities to release immediately and unconditionally all those detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression; - asking the authorities to ensure that they are treated humanely and have access to lawyers, their families and any medical care they may need; - reminding the government that the DPA specifies that those held in connection with the Darfur conflict should be released; -calling for the United Nations Human Rights Monitors and the African Union civilian police to be given free and confidential access to all those detained in Darfur; APPEALS TO Mr Salva Kiir Mayardit First Vice-President People's Palace PO Box 281 Khartoum, Sudan Fax: + 249 183 779977 + 249 183 780796 (Please mark, "FAO First Vice-President") Salutation: Your Excellency Dr Lam Akol Ajawin Minister of Foreign Affairs People's Palace PO Box 281 Khartoum, Sudan Fax: + 249 183 779977 Salutation: Your Excellency Mr Muhammad Ali al-Maradhi Minister of Justice and Attorney General Ministry of Justice Khartoum, Sudan Fax: + 249 183 780796 (Please mark, "FAO Minister of Justice") Email: [email protected] Salutation: Dear Minister Governor of South Darfur State Al-Hajj Atta al-Manan c/o People's Palace, P.O. Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan Fax: +249 711 832535 Salutation: Dear Sir COPIES TO: Dr Abdel Moneim Osman Taha Rapporteur, Advisory Council for Human Rights, Khartoum, Sudan Email: [email protected] and to diplomatic representatives of Sudan accredited to your country. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 13 July 2006.