Darfur: Arrest and Rape of a Student by Militias

On 17 February 2005, Janjaweed militias in Marla village, Nyala, Southern Darfur state, arrested Haroun Ahmed Neel (19 yrs), student from the Zaghawa community. Mr. Haroun was arrested on the street whilst walking with his sister and taken to a military camp, where he was detained in a hole in the ground.

Whilst in detention, Mr. Haroun was reportedly tortured by the militias and received severe injuries. The militias removed Mr. Haroun’s clothes, tied his hands and legs with ropes, flogged him on his back and beat him severely with sticks. A member of the militia, known as Ababeel (nickname) allegedly inserted grass up Mr. Haroun’s nose and then raped him. Mr. Haroun has identified six of the alleged perpetrators, whose names are as follows:

Eziarig Abbas
Abdu Soulieman
Hussain
Hajou
Bolees
Ababeel

On 4 March 2005, Mr. Haroun was transferred from Marla to police offices in Nyala. He was reportedly released on the same day and is facing no official charges. Mr. Haroun is seriously injured and is receiving medical treatment for his injuries at the Amel Medical Centre for Rehabilitation of Torture Victims in Nyala, a SOAT partner organisation.

SOAT strongly condemns the arrest and torture of Haroun Ahmed Neel and calls on the Government of Sudan (GoS) to give assurances that the case will be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.

Background

Although no reason was given for the arrest of Haroun Ahmed Neel, there has been a marked increase over recent months in the arrest and torture of persons from the Zaghawa and Fur communities, on suspicion of supporting the rebel opposition groups in Darfur.

On 20 December 2004, armed forces arrested five men (four belonging to the Zaghawa and one from the Fur tribe) from Marla village on suspicion of joining the rebel forces. The men were detained at a military custody centre in Marla where they were reportedly held in a hole in the ground and tortured by members of the armed forces and Janjaweed militias. The torturers reportedly tied the hands and legs of the men with rope, flogged them on their backs and beat them severely with sticks and with the barrel of their guns on their heads. One of the detainees was reportedly tortured to death whilst in the custody of government armed forces but no post mortem has been conducted. Three of the men remain in detention.

SOAT urges the Government of Sudan to:

Immediately cease attacks on civilians and adhere to it commitments under the ceasefire agreements;

Investigate the arbitrary arrest and torture of Haroun Ahmed Neel and bring the perpetrators to justice;

Guarantee respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of association throughout Sudan in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards;

SOAT also urges the United Nations, African Union and the international community to:

expand the mandate of the African Union peace keeping forces to include the protection of civilians;

investigate allegations of continued attacks on civilians including allegations of torture;

continue to exert pressure on all parties in the conflict to come to a peaceful settlement;

Guarantee respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards;

The above recommendations should be sent in appeals to the following
addresses:

His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir
President of the Republic of Sudan
President' s Palace
PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 249 183 783223

Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin
Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Ministry of Justice
Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 249 183 788941

Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 249 183 779383

Dr. Abdelmuneim Osman Mohamed Taha
Advisory Council for Human Rights
PO Box 302
Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 249 183 770883

Permanent Representative:

His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Elhassan Ahmed Elhaj

Ambassador

Avenue Blanc 47

1202 Geneva

Fax: 022 731 26 56

Email: [email protected]

SOAT is an international human rights organisation established in the UK in 1993. If you have any questions about this or any other SOAT information, please contact us:

SOAT
Argo House
Kilburn Park Road
London NW6 5LF, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7625 8055
Fax: +44 (0)20 7372 2656
E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.soatsudan.org