Special edition
SOAT Newsletter
Sudan Organisation against Torture
Issue No. 49
Date: may – june 2005
Six months on
This edition of SOAT bi-monthly newsletter aims to
provide an overview of events inside Sudan since
January 2005, following the signing of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
people of Darfur remain in a desperate and
unenviable situation and the fight to secure a
sustainable peace for the people of Darfur
continues.
SOAT embarked on this review for several reasons;
firstly to provide updates for our partners, friends
and supporters on all alerts issued by SOAT in the
last six months. Secondly, to enable a clear analysis
of what has been achieved so far in securing the
civil and political rights for the citizens of Sudan.
Thirdly, to offer an analysis of the failure to
generate the political will among the international
community including the African Union (AU) to
exert strong unified international pressure on all
parties to the conflict in Darfur i.e. the government
of Sudan (GoS), the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)
and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to
reach a political solution to the crisis in Darfur,
notwithstanding the adoption of Security Council
Resolution 1591 and 1593. Six months into 2005, the
Fourthly as a consolidation of SOAT and its partner
organisations, Khartoum Center for Human Rights
and Environmental Development and Amel Centre
for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of
Torture campaign throughout June for the
ratification by the GoS of the UN Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading
Treatment
or
Punishment.
A
documentary issue of 'Aswat' Arabic Newsletter
illustrating the various activities undertaken may be
downloaded from our www.soatsudan.org.
Detailed accounts of human rights alerts issued by
SOAT in the last two months maybe downloaded
from SOAT’s website, www.soatsudan.org
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Darfur
The world's response had been “scandalously ineffective”
A preliminary analysis of events in Darfur over the first half
of the year reveals a status quo of violence and a climate of
lawlessness and insecurity. The situation in Darfur has
neither improved significantly nor worsened. Direct fighting
between government troops and the SLA and the JEM has
decreased dramatically over this period, and military flights
by the government over Darfur has ended and the
government forces have withdrawn from areas it had
occupied in December, however widespread gross violations
of human rights with impunity continues to be perpetrated
against civilians. With the exceptions of Hejair Tono Village,
which was attacked in April by more than 200 armed militias
on camels resulting in the death of three civilians and
wounding a fourth man and armed militias in military
uniform on camels attack on Um Dom village on 26 May
2005, wounding at least two men and the looting of
approximately 185 livestock; the pattern of militia attacks
documented by SOAT in the last six months has been largely
opportunistic and random in nature. These attacks are
shocking both in their frequency and intensity and in their
target, the majority of which are civilians particularly
internally displaced persons (IDPs), women, children and aid
convoys.
Civilians
Over the last six months, new arrivals in already
overcrowded camps because of attacks on villages whilst not
on the same mass scale as the later half of 2004 have
nonetheless continued. Attacks on displaced persons
crowded into camps where they have sought refuge have
continued even as these camps are manned by government
security apparatus and with the presence of humanitarian
organisations. There have been several violent clashes
between police forces inside Kalma IDP and the IDP
population that they are reportedly there to serve. On 20
May 2005, violence broke out inside the camp when police
officers attempted to remove the equipment of women sellers
in a small market, which has sprung up inside the camp. An
IDP (Nasir Adam Mohamed Ali) attempted to intervene, and
was subsequently stabbed by one of the officers. The
resulting violence led to the death of a police officer and
wounded at least thirty-three people. In addition, a number
of police cars, and aid agencies tents were set alight including
HAC (Humanitarian Aid Commission), a Red Crescent and
the Norwegian Refugee Council. Many of those arrested
following the clashes remain in detention without charges. In
response, on 17 June, the GOS imposed a blockade on Kalma
camp including a ban on commercial vehicles, horse and
donkey carts, which have adversely affected the IDPs and
further contributed to rising tensions in an already vulnerable
population. The majority of the IDP (Continued – on Page 3)
News Briefs
• On 26 May, participants at a donor
conference in Addis Ababa pledged
$300 million in financial and logistical
support to strengthen AMIS, after the
AU appealed for $466 million to
reinforce its current troops in Darfur
from 2,270 to 7,700 by end of
September. The AU needs a total of
$723 million to expand the force to
12,300 by 2006.
• On 6 June, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the
prosecutor of the ICC, opened an
investigation
into
war
crimes
committed in Darfur.
• On 10 June, the AU mediated peace
negotiations between the parties to the
conflict in Darfur resumed in the
Nigerian capital, Abuja.
• On 13 June, Justice Minister Ali
Mohamed Osman Yassin issued a
special decree setting up a special court
to hear the cases of 160 people accused
of crimes related to the conflict in
Darfur. The court is to sit in Darfur.
• On 14 June, UN agency WHO
announced that acute respiratory tract
infections are the most frequent
illnesses and severe malnutrition is the
most reported cause of death among
children under the age of five yrs.
• On 16 June, UNHCR announced the
flight of thousands of refugees into
Uganda
from
Southern
Sudan
following ethnic tension and food
shortages.
• On 30 June, President Bashair
announced the release of 29 political
prisoners including the leader of the
opposition party PNC. The president
also announced that the state of
emergency, which has been in place in
Sudan for many years, is to be lifted on
9 July, with the exception of the Red
Sea State, Kassala State and Darfur
state.
Inside this Issue
Freedom of Expression
Death Penalty and Amputation
Human Rights in Defenders
Arbitrary Arrest
Human Rights in Darfur
Darfur: News from other Organisations
SOAT News
Order No 702
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p 12
p 13
p 15
p 16
p 18
p 21
p 22
p 23
SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
(Continued – from Page 2) population are not only
depending entirely on humanitarian aid for their
survival, they also remain at risk from attacks from
government forces, marauding armed militias and
rebel opposition groups. These prevailing attacks
particularly in IDP camps in Southern Darfur have
since January 2005, spread beyond the camps.
Whilst previous attacks on IDPs who venture
outside the camps had been meted out by the
government sponsored armed militias, SOAT has
documented
several
incidents
of
regular
government forces subjecting IDPs to torture. In
May, SOAT received reports of the rape of two IDP
girls aged 14 and 12 outside Outash IDP camp in
Nyala by government forces in military uniform.
The victims’ families have reported the case to
police officers inside the camp, and the children
have identified two officers as the perpetrators, as of
writing the soldiers have yet to be charged. Whilst
arbitrary arrests and torture is woven into the fabric
of the GoS security apparatus, a particular pattern
that has emerged since January in Darfur is the
detention of persons in a hole in the ground in
military camps. Detainees are then subjected to
torture before being transferred to military
detention and security detention centres in Nyala
where they are further subjected to torture. This
pattern of arrest and torture has become
widespread, in the last two months SOAT has
documented over 50 individuals who have been
subjected to such treatment and who remain in
detention in Nyala Prison without charges or facing
charges that carry the death sentence.
SOAT deplores the arbitrary arrests and systematic
use of torture with impunity of civilians including
IDPs in Darfur. SOAT is gravely concern about the
lack of access to medical treatment for victims of
abuse and condemns strongly the failure of
government police forces in their duty to protect the
IDP population for which they are assigned. Rather
these forces have further subjected the already
exposed
population
to
intimidation
and
harassments as the government pursues its agenda
of relocating IDPs. On 10 May 2005, police officers
arrested fifteen IDP leaders from a small market
inside Kalma camp. The IDPs were taken to an open
area inside the market and subjected to torture for
over an hour. The police officers beat them with
their hands, sticks and the butt of their guns. The
officers also shaved the hair of the IDP’s, including
their beards. This failure of police forces along with
the continuing rape and sexual violence committed
by government sponsored Janjaweed militias on
women and girls as young as twelve collecting
water and firewood around the IDP camps have
Page 3 of 26
further exacerbated the plight of persons in Darfur
and the humanitarian crisis.
The significant displacement of entire communities
has not been limited within the borders of Darfur or
the Sudan. There are at least 213,000 Darfurian
refugees in 11 camps throughout the BorkouEnnedi-Tibesti, Biltine and Ouaddai regions of
Chad, regions that are unsuitable for these large
population influxes particularly as water and
agricultural resources are scarce. The UN World
Food Programme warned in April that the 200,000
Darfurians who fled into Chad risk face hunger in
the months ahead. Although there are now far more
humanitarian agencies working in the region, more
than 9,000 local and international aid workers in
Darfur,
harassments
and
intimidation
by
government forces particularly on local aid workers
has ensured that their work while continuing has
been hindered. Nevertheless, SOAT welcomes the
announcement of the European Commission (EC) to
release US $14.7 million in humanitarian aid to help
these tens of thousands refugees in Chad.
SOAT is encouraged by the presence of AU forces in
Darfur. Violence has abated in the areas where they
are deployed. SOAT welcomes the announcement
by international donors including an airlift, to be
co-ordinated by NATO and the European Union
(EU) and the agreement of international donors to
increase their contribution to the AU peacekeeping
force in Darfur. This contribution will enable the
AMIS (African Union Mission in Sudan) to expand
its mission including an increase in its strength to
7,700 troops and civilian police. SOAT urges all
parties to the conflict, the international community
including the African Union to address and alleviate
the issues facing the IDP population in Darfur
namely, attacks from armed militias and lack of
basic services. SOAT calls upon the community of
donors to provide all the necessary financial
resources to aid agencies, and to the AU mission in
Sudan Representative to support all efforts to
resolve the crisis in Darfur.
SOAT notes with concern the escalation in banditry
and lawlessness and attacks by armed militias on
civilians and humanitarian envoys. These attacks
have impeded the work of aid agencies and has
meant that a large proportion of Darfurians face
daily food insecurity and violations. Food shortages
have meant that banditry and robbery have risen
dramatically as armed groups search for food,
according to the UN, an estimated 3.5 million
Sudanese in the Darfur region are in need of food
aid.
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
The general civilian population, similar to IDPs have
in the last six months being subjected to systematic
arrests and harassment. The general climate in
Darfur is one of fear and insecurity. In a particularly
disturbing case, in April, soldiers from the army
stopped a passenger bus travelling from Belail IDP
camp to Nyala and ordered three male passengers of
the bus before proceeding to beat them with the
butts of their guns. The soldiers then took the
passengers away with them in their Land Rover.
The whereabouts of the men remains unknown.
Again, in May, six armed men in military uniform
attacked a passenger bus travelling between
Mahagriya to Nyala town. The men robbed the
passengers of money and beat the passengers
including two elderly women and female child. Two
of the armed men also raped a 16 year old girl from
the Zaghawa tribe travelling with her brother.
These sporadic and random attacks have failed to
impress upon the government to immediately rein
in the militias.
In the last six months, the
government has failed spectacularly to take
measures to protect the unarmed civilian
population, to disarm marauding militias whose
very presence threatens and intimidates an already
vulnerable population or to bring gross violators of
human rights violations to justice. Since January
2005, SOAT network of lawyers have brought over
500 cases of attacks on civilians including women
and children before the Nyala District Attorney of
which the majority remains pending. Currently
there are numerous numbers of people in detention
who are if not facing offences that carry the death
penalty are held for alleged support of the rebel
opposition, mainly the SLA.
SOAT is calling for the government of Sudan (GoS)
to immediately waive the immunity of all persons
participating in the war in Darfur including its
regular forces; to allow the attorney general to
investigate gross incidents of regular forces abuse
and to hand the perpetrators into police custody to
ensure that they are held accountable. Members of
security apparatus who commit gross human rights
violations must be brought before military and
security tribunals, which are closed courts.
Moreover, these special courts are not a substitute to
natural courts and thus trying such grave offences
with widespread implication for notions of
accountability and impunity in these courts
undermines the fundamental principles on which
international standards of fair and just trials are
founded on.
The Peace Process
Page 4 of 26
Despite Security Council resolutions threatening
sanctions and the signing of the ‘Abuja Accords’ in
November 2004 to end hostilities, a peace agreement
between the government and the SLA and JEM has
yet to be reached. The delay in peace negotiations,
which were widely blamed on the SLA and the JEM,
resumed in the middle of June but has since suffered
severe setbacks. The SLA, the main opposition
group in Darfur and the first to take up arms against
the government in Khartoum for what they
perceived to be a long history of discrimination split
into two factions during the negotiations. Several
members have denounced the SLA’s chief negotiator
at the talks, Abdelwahid Mohamed Nur and are
claiming allegiance to Mani Arku Mannawi, the SLA
secretary-general.
SOAT expresses concerns about this internal
division and its implications for the SLA to reach a
sustainable peace agreement with the government.
SOAT recognises that the SLA, arguably unlike the
JEM are committed to reaching a peace agreement
with the government; however these internal
divisions can only hinder the movement from a
comprehensive peace for the whole of Darfur.
Outside the SLA, reported clashes between the
group and the JEM in May resulted in the death of
twenty people including the SLA commander,
Abdullah Domi and several civilians. Reportedly,
fighting broke out after JEM fighter settled in SLA
military camps in Gereda, South East of Nyala, and
refused to leave. During the skirmishes, the SLA
captured forty JEM vehicles and twenty JEM
fighters, fighters which they have now handed over
to African Union troops. SOAT condemns all attacks
on civilians and the actions of the SLA and the JEM
and urges them to refrain from competing over
military power in Darfur and to abide by their
commitments as enshrined in the Ceasefire
Agreement and the Abuja Accords.
The AU must be recommended in its determination
to fully implement the relevant principles stipulated
in its Constitutive Act. It has sought dogmatically to
bring the warring factions to reach a durable and
enforceable peace agreement, however this
determination has waned somewhat since January
2005. It has not only be the AU which has lost
momentum in its efforts to secure a peace settlement
in the region, despite two resolutions adopted by the
UN Security Council in March, both of which the
GoS rejected and which SOAT welcomed, (referral
of crimes committed in Darfur to the International
Criminal Court (ICC) and resolution imposing
sanctions on the regime). Security Council members
have failed dismally not least in their failure to
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
enforce their own resolutions but in their silence in
the face of Khartoum’s continuing failure to adhere
to its commitments under the April Ceasefire
Agreement. Specifically their failure to condemn the
government and all parties to the conflict inability to
reach a peace agreement even though many of the
countries who pledged aid for the reconstruction
and development of Southern Sudan during the
Donor Conference in Oslo, Norway including the
US and the EU made aid conditional to progress in
Darfur. The failure of the GoS to disarm the armed
militias terrorising the region, and its continued
support of these groups are unacceptable and
indictment of the international community’s
impotence.
This apparent disinterest on the part of UN Security
Council members has meant that the sustained
pressure and international attention that had
previously been placed on Khartoum to resolve the
conflict and to mobilise help and support for the
citizens of Darfur has reduced dramatically.
Notwithstanding this shift in Security Council
member’s rhetoric, other states have attempted to
resolve the conflict, particularly Libya. Since
January, Libya’s efforts to position itself as a
mediator in African conflicts has resulted in two
mini summits involving six African nations
including Sudan producing a declaration from the
SLA and JEM in May 2005 that they would adhere to
a cease-fire and help facilitate the flow of
humanitarian relief aid. This declaration although
welcomed had since impaled into significance
SOAT welcomes all efforts to secure peace in Darfur
including the negotiations in Abuja, the mini
summits in Tripoli and encouraged by the formal
investigation launched by the ICC in June into
crimes against humanity and war crimes. SOAT
believes that the launch of this investigation will not
only erode the culture of impunity that has taken
root in Sudan but will deter further atrocities against
civilians, mostly women and children, committed by
the individuals most responsible for one of the
world’s greatest humanitarian disasters. SOAT calls
on the government of Sudan to acknowledge that
total dependence on prosecutions by the Sudanese
courts is not acceptable, given that the judicial
system is neither independent nor impartial and
characterised by a culture of intimidation. In March,
SOAT reported the attack by five men in military
uniform of three women from Kalma IDP Camp
whilst they were outside the camp fetching
firewood. The attack resulted in the death of one of
the women, Meryem Abaker Abdel Raheam (23 yrs)
and the attempted rape of two other women who
Page 5 of 26
managed to escape. Since the events, Meryem’s
family intimidated and harassed so as not to launch
a legal inquest into Meryem’s death. Consequently,
Meryem’s family are no longer proceeding with the
case. In another case, between 23-25 May soldiers
from the armed forces in Sanya Afondu village
arrested six family members including his mother
and two sisters and five employees of Ibrahim
Soulieman Adam. The officers took the detainees
into a hole in the ground in a military camp, 1km
West of Sanya Afondu. Mr. Ibrahim family members
and employees were arrested following a complaint
launched by SOAT network of lawyers on behalf of
Mr. Ibrahim against the armed forces in Sanya
Afondu before the attorney general regarding Mr.
Ibrahim’s arbitrary arrest, detention and torture in a
hole in the ground for eight days in January 2005.
SOAT calls upon the government to abandon the
charade that is the special courts set up to try
alleged Darfur war criminals in June, a week after
the prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo
launched his investigation. (Please see pg 24 for details
of the order issued by the government establishing the
Special Court for Crimes Committed in Darfur)
Currently the prosecution council is set to hear cases
of 160 people accused of committing crimes in the
states of North, West and South Darfur. This special
court, which received its mandate in June, is neither
qualified nor capable of bringing to trial complex
war atrocities including the wanton destruction of
villages, systematic and widespread killings and
rape of the civilian population. Nonetheless, SOAT
recognises that whilst the judicial system inside
Sudan is decimated, the courts can play a role once
it is reformed. Reform of the judiciary will ensure
that it is able and willing to undertake investigations
and to bring perpetrators to account in an impartial
and fair manner. This enforcement of human rights
as noted by the ICC can only be achieved through
using “traditional African mechanisms” to
complement
the
ICC
to
achieve
“local
reconciliation”. SOAT endorses this realization, as
these mechanisms will contribute to reconcile
residual tensions and animosities especially as the
perpetrators of many of these crimes originate from
Darfur and will live alongside their victims. Even so,
SOAT reiterates that these local mechanisms are at
best complementary mechanism for asserting
accountability and thus cannot replace criminal
prosecution of those responsible for war crimes and
crimes against humanity. Accordingly, SOAT
believes that the major perpetrators of war crimes in
Darfur must be brought before the ICC for reasons
of accountability and in the interest of justice for the
perpetrators of the heinous crimes that has been
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
committed against the civilian population of Darfur
requires trial and punishment. This is the most
important investigation yet to be handled by the
ICC in its short history and as such, its enforcement
of human rights should be applauded and
reaffirmed.
SOAT acknowledges and encourages the work
undertaken by the AU in Darfur. SOAT urges it to
give due priority to the humanitarian and human
rights aspect of the conflict. It is notable that the factfinding mission undertaken by the African
Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
(ACHPR) into the human rights situation in Darfur
in July 2004, has yet to be followed with further
human
rights
missions
to
the
region
notwithstanding reports on Darfur produced by the
AU continue to confirm that widespread and
systematic gross violations of human rights with
impunity. As noted in its Communiqué Of the 28th
Meeting of the Peace and Security Council, 28
April 2005, “persistent attacks against civilians and
other violations of human rights and international
humanitarian law, as well as attacks against
humanitarian workers and agencies”
Nonetheless, SOAT welcomes and is encouraged by
steps taken by all parties to improve the human
rights situation for Darfur SOAT, these include:
• The grounding of Antonov Planes over Darfur by
the government, bombs which were used to
bomb civilian villages in coordinated with militia
attacks on the ground; and the arms embargo
imposed by the international community on
Sudan;
• Publication and findings of the International
Commission of Inquiry on Darfur;
• The decision by the UN Security Council to refer
the situation in Darfur to the International
Criminal Court (ICC)
• The decision by the ICC Prosecutor to endorse
the referral of the Security Council and to open
an investigation on the crimes committed in
Darfur
• The return to negotiations in Abuja by all parties
to the conflict
North-south
On 9 January 2005, the government of Sudan (GoS)
and
the
Sudan
People's
Liberation
Movement/Army
(SPLM/A)
signed
the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Nairobi which
ended two decades of conflict in the South. The
conflict has cost the lives of an estimated 1.5 million
Page 6 of 26
people through fighting, and deprivation associated
with war with a further four million people
estimated to have been displaced. The signing of
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was expected
to usher in a period of national reconciliation and
healing. Six months after the signing, SOAT has
noted changes, which while not overwhelming, are
significant in the Equatorial states as a direct
consequence of the signing of the CPA. These states,
which were government, controlled during its two
decades war with the SPLA has seen the lifting of
curfew and a lessening in the severity of human
rights violations committed by government forces.
Even as clashes between armed Northerners and
Southerners have continued in the capital Juba,
southern Sudan’s largest town, with a population of
about 160,000, police forces have exercised restraint
and ensured that these skirmishes have not
escalated. On 21 March, Tariq Abdullah, (23yrs),
soldier with the Republican Guards Corp, Juba
Malakia Police arrested a northerner on suspicion of
amputating the hand of a 15-year-old boy, Samuel
Taban. The incident led clashes between
Northerners and Southerners in the Locality of
Kator where the incident took place. Four shops
were looted and one shopkeeper was severely
wounded.
Nevertheless, with the exception of sporadic attacks
by the Lord Resistance Army (LRA), the Ugandan
rebels who roam the suburbs of Eastern Equatorial
State usually heavily armed who in March shot and
burned to death 10 civilians travelling to Torit on the
Juba Torit road, systematic violations of human
rights by government forces in the South which
were the mainstay of the conflict appear to have
been if not eradicated then reduced in its intensity
and frequency. Reported violations have reduced
dramatically over the last six months. Nonetheless,
flogging, an inhumane and degrading punishment
continues to be imposed for certain types of crime
including
theft,
notwithstanding
that
this
punishment constitutes cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment according to the UN
Convention against Torture and the International
Covenant of Civil and Political Rights.
Return, Resettlement of IDPs to
the South
The UN Guiding Principles on Internal
Displacement requires that. “... authorities have the
primary duty and responsibility to establish conditions,
as well as provide the means, which allow internally
displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and
with dignity, to their homes or places of habitual
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
residence”, return of IDPs to Southern Sudan has
thus far lacked any organisation in terms of their
resettlement and reintegration. Since the conclusion
of the CPA along with the reopening of roads,
thousands of IDPs have returned simultaneously to
the South. According to data collected at five entry
points in Southern Kordofan by Nuba Mountains
Programme Advancing Conflict Transformation
(NMPACT) with assistance from a Field Protection
Officer from OCHA, 9,558 returnees passed through
the entry points during the one-month data
collection period, 1 May to 3 June.
Whilst people displaced have the right to return to
their original places, many of these roads are unsafe
due to landmines left over from the war. There has
been de-mining in government controlled areas,
including the road from Yei to Bridge 40, however
many roads which requires the de-mining have been
left as the responsibility of refugees. Moreover, the
returnees have arrived in an area lacking basic
infrastructure including schools, hospitals, and
roads, which have resulted in overcrowding,
reducing living conditions and standards and may
well sow the seeds for civil unrest. According to
reports, tribal clashes over grazing rights and access
to water in the south, has led to the death of several
people and wounded dozens more.
SOAT appeals to the international community to
speedily deploy peacekeepers to the region to
support the implementation of the peace agreement
and to support all efforts to enhance political
dialogue, to promote national reconciliation and
respect for the rule of law and human rights and to
assist in strengthening the national mechanisms for
conflict prevention. This need is particularly urgent
in light of recent events. Victims of the explosion of
an ammunition dump near the Central Market in
Bahr El Jebel on 23 February which at least 80
people were killed and 250 injured have been
categorised into two groups; homeowners whose
homes were destroyed and those who had market
stalls. Whilst the former persons have been assisted
somewhat in that the roofs of their houses have been
re-thatched and some have received monetary
compensation, the level of distrust between the
people in the South and the government in Bahr El
Jebel has led many to question whether they have
received all the assistance sent from Khartoum. As a
result of these suspicions, the leader of the home
owners committee Abdu Tito has been subjected to
systematic harassment and there are fears that the
authorities are seeking a pretext for his arrest. The
later group have yet to receive any form of
compensation and are currently in the process of
Page 7 of 26
suing the Ministry of Defence, SOAT network
lawyer in Juba; Edward Modesto is representing
their case.
SOAT expresses concerns about the government’s
continual violation of international humanitarian
law and lack of respect for international norms of
behaviour. The government scheme of relocating
IDPs as part a larger area-replanning programme
has continued apace in the last six months with
deadly consequences. On 18 May 2005, several
people were killed, 14 police officers, 6 civilians
including two children and several others were
wounded when police officers entered Soba Aradi
area, populated by IDPs, Southern Khartoum to
forcefully relocate the persons to a different
designated area. In response to the violence, the
government deployed extra police, military and
security personnel on the streets of Soba. Persons
residing in the Soba Aradi Area have been subjected
to a government-controlled campaign of mass
arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detentions.
Over 200 people have been arrested including
women and children, the whereabouts of many are
unknown to their families and at least one death,
that of Abdallah DawAlbait Ahmed. Furthermore,
in a disturbing move, on 24 May 2005, police officers
shut off three out of four water pipes lines and tanks
as a method to force people to leave the Soba Aradi
area. At present, the population in Soba are facing
water shortages. The actions of its security
apparatus have been excessive and a violation of
fundamental human rights. On 11 June 2005,
Security forces arrested and detained Eisa Adam
Abdulla, (40 yrs) from the Fur tribe, lives in Soba
Aradi. Mr. Eisa was arrested near Farouq Mosque in
the central Khartoum after attending a meeting with
lawyers from Darfur. Mr. Eisa had provided
information to the lawyers on events in the Soba
Aradi area. Mr. Eisa was released on the second day
without charges.
SOAT regrets the methodology of the government
response to the events in Soba and its failure to
exercise restraint or to recognise the futility of
placing all government policies in security
framework. The switch of water supplies to the Soba
Aradi area has meant that there is now acute
shortage of drinking water. SOAT recalls that “the
intentional infliction of conditions of life... calculated
to bring about the destruction of part of a
population” is a crime against humanity and urges
the government to immediately allow the people in
Soba Aradi area access to water. The events in Soba
IDP Camp reflect a wider pattern of the treatment of
IDPs by government security forces in Khartoum.
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
Thus, SOAT urges the government to acknowledge
the major causes of the incident and to respond
accordingly through economic, social and
humanitarian measures and through respect of the
rights of IDPs, the protection of civilians, and
respect for basic human lives according to the law.
This continuing pattern of horrific abuse of State
power warrants a forceful response from the
international community. SOAT is calling on the
international community, international NGOs to
firmly condemn the actions of the government in
Soba Aradi and to place pressure on the government
to acknowledge the major causes of the residents of
Soba Aradi refusal to relocate and to respond
accordingly through economic, social and
humanitarian measures according to the law.
North
The extension of emergency laws for a further one
year in December 2004 has meant that there have
been few changes concerning human rights in the
North of the country during the first half of the year.
Despite the hope generated by CPA, political
tensions within Khartoum have increased
dramatically. The repressive structure of the
emergency rules meant that so far in the year
National Security Agency (NSA) continued in the
North to abuse the arbitrary power of arrest and
detention invested in them, occurrences of human
rights violations were widespread and systematic
particularly on students, Darfurians who have been
displaced to the North and IDPS from the two
decades of war in the South.
SOAT is alarmed by the surge in violence against
student activists in the last six months. Students
continue to be subjected to arbitrary arrests;
detention and torture. SOAT has documented the
death of two students, Khalid Mohamed Nour Okad
(22 yrs), student at Neilien University in Khartoum
died at Khartoum Hospital after attending a student
demonstration in the centre of Khartoum on 13
April 2005 and on 11 April 2005, Nagmeldin Gafar
Adam Eisa,(28 yrs) student at Delanj University in
Kordofan died after being shot by police officers
during a protest inside Delanj University. SOAT has
reported and documented the arrests of over sixty
students participating in demonstrations across
Sudan.
The continuing pattern of police abuse of power and
use of excessive force demands a forceful response
from the government. However, the authorities have
yet to launch a thorough and independent
investigation into the deaths of the students despite
Page 8 of 26
demands by international/local NGOs. Moreover,
despite the fact that Mr. Khalid family lodged legal
proceedings into his death, none of the perpetrators
have been identified or brought to trial. Political
activists have not fared much better. On 15th April,
security forces arrested three members of the
Ummah National Party (UNP) in Khartoum whilst
they were distributing posters announcing a UNP
Conference to be held in Khartoum State on 24 April
2005. The detainees were severely beaten by security
agents during the arrest. On 28 April 2005, Dr.
Hassan Al Turabi, leader of the opposition party, the
Popular National Congress (PNC) was transferred
from Kober Prison to a house owned by the
government in Kafori, Khartoum north district by
security forces. Dr. Hassan who has been in
detention since March 2004 without charges was
eventually released on 30 June. In a speech by
President Bashair on 30 June, he noted the release of
Dr. Hassan, without mentioning whether other
political detainees would be released. SOAT was
pleased to note that in the President’s speech, he
announced that the state of emergency, which has
been in place in Sudan for many years, will be lifted
on 9 July, with the exception of the Red Sea State,
Kassala State and Darfur state. SOAT notes however
that the President failed to mention how the lifting
of the state of emergency will influence the
draconian censorship rules that continues to restrict
freedom of expression in Khartoum.
Even while emphasizing our concern that the GoS
has taken little action to implement its obligations
under the comprehensive peace agreement, namely
the adoption of the necessary domestic legislation,
SOAT welcomes and is encouraged over steps taken
by both the government and the SPLA over the last
six months, these include:
• The Comprehensive Peace Agreement between
the government and the SPLA ending two
decades of conflict in the South;
• Draft of the new constitution which was
achieved amid much controversy;
• The endorsement within the constitution of
international charters and conventions on human
rights
• The signing of a final peace agreement in Cairo
between the Sudanese government and the
National Democratic Alliance, an umbrella
opposition grouping;
• The National Assembly endorsement on
ratification by Sudan of the two additional
protocols of the four Geneva Conventions 1949
which are: The first additional Protocol-1977,
concerned with the international armed conflicts
and the second Additional Protocol-1977,
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
concerned with Non-International armed
conflicts during its session dated 20.06.2005 of its
9th Round
• Release of a number of political detainees
including detainees from the Beja Congress and
Dr. al-Turabi, founder of the PNC
• Presidential Announcement that the State of
Emergency will be lifted on 9 July with the
exception of Red Sea State, Kassala and Darfur
Eastern Sudan
Eastern groups like their counterparts in Darfur
accuse the government in Khartoum of widespread
state neglect and political marginalisation. Whilst
there has been tensions in the East since the 1990s
when the SPLA and the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA), an umbrella opposition grouping
opened a new front in their fight with Khartoum,
the last six months has seen a marked escalation in
tension and skirmishes between the GoS and the
various rebel movements in the East, including the
Free Lions Movement, AL Fateh Forces, the armed
wing of the DUP Democratic Unionist Party and the
Beja Congress, collectively calling themselves the
Eastern Front.
Since January, the situation in Eastern Sudan has
been one of an uneasy calm with the government
accusing Eritrea of supporting various political
forces, especially those parties involved in the
Eastern Region. The failure of the GoS and the SPLA
to include the Eastern Front in the CPA; the killing
of 23 people including children and a pregnant
woman and scores of arrest of peaceful
demonstrators in January 2005 by security officers in
Port Sudan; withdrawal of the Eastern Front from
the NDA; the killing of fifteen people including a
number of administrative officers (Civil Servants)
and the kidnap of three parliamentarians from Red
Sea State by the Eastern Front (See SOAT press Alert
26 May 2005); and the emergence of the JEM in East
have all contributed to exacerbate the situation in
the East making it precarious for the civilian
population. The Eastern Front reportedly kidnapped
the persons in protest against a governmentorganised conference on the development of Eastern
Sudan with the participation of traditional tribal
leaders in Kassala. The parliamentarians were
kidnapped in Amadam, 120km North of Kassala, the
main road from Kassala to Port Sudan on their
return from the conference. The whereabouts of the
parliamentarians remains unknown. June witnessed
fighting between government forces and the Eastern
Front in Red Sea State. According to the Eastern
Page 9 of 26
Front, the government conducted an intensive aerial
bombing campaign on civilian targets in the Red Sea
State in resulting in the deaths of at least twenty
civilians, a claim denied by the government. Whilst
the Eastern Front have yet to release the details
including the names of those killed, it has been
confirmed that fighting has taken place between
government troops and the Eastern Front in a small
piece of territory in eastern Sudan, bordering to
Eritrea which has been controlled by the rebels since
1996. Both sides have sought to politicise the
fighting, with the government accusing Eritrea of
complicity and the Eastern Front accusing the
government of pursing the ‘Darfur policy’ in Eastern
Sudan.
The various rebel groups in the East namely the Beja
Congress, and the Free Lions Movement arose to
confront the government in Khartoum, nonetheless,
there are fundamental differences both in their aim
and in membership. The Beja Congress was formed
in the 1960s to voice grievances against the
marginalisation of the East; however, it began an
armed struggle in the 1990s following the GoS
aggressive promotion of its version of Islam in the
region, which included launching army attacks on
Beja mosques and religious schools. It was a
member of NDA and is signatory to the NDA's 1995
Asmara Declaration until its withdrawal in 2005.
Senior members of the Beja Congress are drawn
from local tribes and are fighting primarily to
change what they perceive as years of neglect by
central government, and to push for the
establishment of a representative government. The
Beja people are predominately nomadic and are
divided into five major tribes and many smaller sub
tribes, speaking several languages, the largest of
which are the Hadendowa tribe who are
concentrated in Port Sudan and Kassala. The Free
Lions Movement on the other hand is the armed
wing of the Al-Rashayidah, the most recent Arab
migration to Sudan, which began in 1869.
Although the JEM and the Free Lions Movement
signed an agreement in July 2004 supporting armed
opposition to the government, the JEM involvement
in Eastern Sudan is unacceptable particularly in
light of its role as party to peace negotiations in the
Darfur region and is signatory to the N’Djamena
April 2004 Humanitarian Ceasefire. It appears that
in seeking to further their aim, specifically their
Islamic agenda, the JEM is intent on engineering a
nationwide conflict. Senior members of the JEM,
whilst from Darfur, have strong historical links with
the ruling party in Khartoum. Following an internal
struggle for control between Islamists in the ruling
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
party, the National Congress, formerly known as the
National Islamic Front (NIF), Darfurians within the
NIF sided with Hassan Al-Turabi and in 2000,
became part of his party, the Popular National
Congress (PNC). The aim of the JEM unlike many of
the rebel opposition groups in Sudan is not only a
fight against marginalisation and poverty; rather it
is a fight with the specific aim of the overthrow of
the ruling government.
The government for its part has done very little to
ensure that the peripheral areas following the
signing of the CPA does not descent into fractional
collapse. Besides various agreements and meetings
with the NDA, which has now produced what is
hoped to be the final peace agreement in Cairo, the
government has continued to accuse opposition
forces of planning attacks on targets in the east. The
GoS has failed to address the fundamental issues
which led to the creation and the existence of the
various armed groups in the region namely feelings
of marginalisation and neglect. The promise of 88
million dollars by the government for development
over three years including the rebuilding of
infrastructure in the region is clearly inadequate.
Events in Eastern Sudan over the last six months
have revealed an increasingly fluid and insecure
region. SOAT has serious concerns about events in
the region and expresses fears that the situation
could result in the East becoming the next scene for
a major conflict in Sudan. SOAT calls on the GoS to
take the necessary measures including the inclusion
of eastern groups in the recent peace agreements
signed between Khartoum and southern opposition
groups. SOAT urges the
‘Eastern Front’, which
includes the JEM, Free Lions Movement and the Beja
Congress to participate fully in constructive
negotiations towards a political settlement with the
GoS and to refrain from undertaking any activity
that may inflame the situation. Moreover, SOAT
calls on the GoS to immediately bring to trial before
an impartial tribunal the police officers responsible
Page 10 of 26
for the death of civilians exercising their rights as
enshrined in international charters and conventions
in Port Sudan. SOAT condemns the arbitrary arrests
and harassment, and targeting of political activists
in the region. On 14 June 2005, security officials
issued summons for Dr. Amna Dhirar (51 yrs old),
general secretary of the Beja Congress and Vice
President of the ‘Eastern Front’ to report to the
political section of security offices at Khartoum
north. Dr. Amna received the summons at her work,
in Ahfad University, Omdurman, ordering her to
report immediately, to the security offices at
Khartoum North. Upon her arrival to the security
offices, Dr. Amna was detained for the day and
questioned about her meeting with the Beja
Congress in Asmara, Eritrea, which took place on 20
May 2005. Dr Amna returned arrived back in Sudan
on 8 June 2005. She was released on the condition
that she reported the following day.
The current perception that the government in
Khartoum is heading for change and is in the
process of transforming itself in terms of respect of
civil and political rights is clearly false. Key
challenges in the year ahead include lifting the state
of emergency; ensuring that the Article 33, Part Two,
‘Bill of Rights’ of the Draft Constitution is amended
in the final interim constitution to “No person shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment and punishment” as reflected in
international human rights standards; bringing a
just peace for the people in Darfur which include
central government acceptance of the ICC
investigation into crimes committed in Darfur in
light of the government inability to administer
justice, constructing a truly representative
government of unity; dissipating the growing
tension over southern oilfields and major tension
and arms build-up in the east; resettling IDPs both
in Darfur and Khartoum. Almost six months after
the signing of the CPA, the road ahead remains long
and fraught with risk.
Remembering the victims of security forces violence in Sudan since January
2005:
Adam Joumma’ Bakour, 35 yrs, M
Darfur:
Adam Mohamed Ahmed, (45 yrs), Farmer, M
Abaker Mohamed Momin, (18 yrs), Zaghawa, M
Adam Yahya Mohamed Arbab, (45 yrs), Farmer, M
Abdel Razig Mohamed Nour Basi, (85 yrs), M
Adam Yousif Ameen, 70 yrs, M
Abdella Ahmed Abdel Jabar, 35 yrs, M
Ahmed Abdella Yousif, 25 yrs, M
Abu Algasim Ahmed Abdella, (36 yrs) Farmer,
Ahmed Adam Mohamed Haroun, 20 yrs, M
Ahmed Mohamadin Abaker, 45 yrs, M
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
Page 11 of 26
Ahmed Yousif Jarada, 51 yrs, M
Ibrahim Abu-fatma Bashir, 14 yrs, M
Aljameel Musa Ibraheem, 25 yrs, M
Omer Hammad Omer , M
Alnour Tabaldea, 17 yrs, M
Eisa Hassan Ali, M
Alrabi Ibraheam Hussain, (22 yrs), mentally ill, M
Hussain Arka Mohamed, M
Altahir Mohamadain, 20 yrs, M
Makki Idris Makki, M
Alzebair Ibraheam Abdel Shakour, (25 yrs), M
Oshaik Alamin, M
Ameen Hussain Ameen, 55 yrs, M
Ali Mohamed Mohamed Ali, M
Fatima Abdella Abdel Kareem, F
Tahir Mohamed Tahir , M
Haythem Mohamed Abdella, 15 yrs, M
Fagiri Ahmed Hamid, M
Ibraheam Hadi, (55 yrs), Zaghawa, M
Ohag Ali Hamad, M
Idrees Adam Mohamadain, 30 yrs, M
Mohamed Mohamed Tahir, M
Idrees Soulieman, (42 yrs), Zaghawa, M
Ahmed Abu-fatma Hamza Makawi, M
Ismat Ahmed Abdel rahman, 8 yrs, M
Omer Abdalah Mohamed, M
Jamal Ismeal Ahmed, (25 yrs), Zaghawa, M
Rashid Hassan Osman (Originally from West of
Sudan), M
Meryem Abaker Abdel Raheam, (23 yrs), W
Mohamadain Mohamed Abaker, 63 yrs, M
Ali Hussain Raihain, M
Mohamed Abdel Mawla, 30 yrs, M
Tahir Hussain, M
Mohamed Abdel Rahman Mohamed Salih, M
Female
Mohamed Abdella Abaker, 35 yrs, M
Unidentified, M
Mohamed Abdella Khamees, (35 Yrs, Farmer, M
Mohamed Adam Ajaweed, 80 yrs, M
Mohamed Soulieman Mohamed, (40 yrs), Farmer, M
Mohamed Yahya Alshikh, (40 yrs), Farmer, M
Mouhi Aldean Zakarea Mohamed Tikka, (27 yrs), M
Musa Abaker Mohamed, 65 yrs, M
Musa Mohamed Musa, (25yrs), W
Musa Salih Adam, 50 yrs, M
Najeeb Mohamed Ahmed, (40 yrs), Farmer, M
Osman Ahmed Shaheed, 75 yrs, M
Raweya Idreas Ateam, (3 yrs), (W)
Salih Ateam Kitir, (50 yrs), Farmer, M
Sideag Hassan, (29 yrs), Farmer, M
Zakarea Mohamed Tikka, (75 yrs), Farmer, M
Red Sea State
Osman Mohamed Adam, M
Mohamed Badri Badneen, M
Abdallah Mohamed Issa, M
Mohameddeen Alwagadabi, M
Khartoum
Abdalla Mohamed Yousif, M
Abdallah DawAlbait Ahmed, Bani Hessian, M
Abdelshafie Ishag Omer, (45 yrs), Fur, M
Adil Batran, M
Alrasheid Mudawi, M
Child, (W) less than one year old
Gamar Eldawla Ahmed Alsidig, M
Khalid Mohamed Nour Okad (22 yrs), student, M
Marco Alfraid, M
Mishaal Abdalla, M
Modathir Abdallah, (30 yrs), Fur, M
Mohamed Abdallah Zakaria, (14 yrs), M
Nagmeldin Gafar Adam Eisa, student, M
Salih Sulaiman Abakar, (27 yrs), Bargo, M
Salih Sulaiman Abakar, Bargo, M
Shamseldin Idries Al-amin, 30yrs old, M
Widaah Abdallah, M
Yousif Haroun, M
Tahir Husain Hassan, 12 yrs, M
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
Page 12 of 26
Freedom of Expression
Arrest of American
photographer
On 26 April 2005, security forces arrested Bradley
Clift, an American photographer on suspicion of
taking photos in an Internally Displaced Persons
(IDP) camp in Nyala. Mr. Bradley is under house
arrest in Nyala. He was due to appear in court on 29
April 2005; however, the judge failed to attend. No
future date has been set, Mr. Bradley remains under
house arrest and is facing no official charges.
Newspaper confiscated
because of political poem
The sports newspaper Al-mushahid continues to
print following confiscation of all copies on 18
January 2005 by officers from the National Security
Agency (NSA) after it printed a poem criticising the
government policy, ‘Alsalih al-aam’. The policy
allows for the dismissal of civil servants who do not
support the policies and ideology of the ruling
party, the National Congress.
Deaths of protestors at
Port Sudan
Almost six months after the death of 19 people
including two children and a woman when police
forces in Port Sudan, eastern region of Sudan
opened live ammunition on a demonstrating crowd,
the suppression of peaceful assembly by
government security apparatus continues apace in
Sudan. The government has continued in its gross
violation of rights guaranteed by international
human rights law. The government attempts to halt
the dissemination of information to the wider public
has continued with arbitrary confiscation of
newspapers and revocation of licence.
Targeting of printed media
in Khartoum
The last six months has seen a marked increase in
harassments of journalists and a clampdown on
printed media in Sudan by the National Security
Agency (NSA). According to Faisal Elbagir, SOAT
Freedom of Expression Coordinator and RSF Sudan
correspondent “Many journalists and writers, are
suffering from this brutal security censorship,
including myself”. He added, “It is very clear that
the state is not keen at all, to respect freedom of
expression and freedom of press”.
Despite the official lifting of censorship on
newspapers operating under the jurisdiction of the
NSA since August 2003, in what it describes as ‘precensorship’, chief editors of all Sudanese news
papers continue to receive orders demanding
removals before print of certain articles and news
coverage that is perceived by the NSA as crossing
the ‘red line’. These orders are communicated to
editors through the telephone calls without NSA
agents having seen the offending article, or through
NSA officers visiting newspapers offices and
reading the paper before ordering its withdrawal.
Most commonly, NSA officers’ visit media houses in
the late hours of the morning after waiting until
edition of papers have been printed and ready for
distribution before confiscating all copies.
The English language daily ‘Khartoum Monitor’ has
not published since 12 June 2005 after its licence to
publish was revoked following the paper’s coverage
of the violent clashes between government forces
and the local IDP population at Soba Aradi area
south of Khartoum on 18 May. The revocation of the
licence to print cited a High Court decision dated 12
July 2003, which ordered withdrawal of the license
of the paper. The paper is in the process of
challenging the reasons for the revocation of its
licence before the National Press and Publications
Council.
SOAT considers the action of the National Press and
Publications Council and the judiciary as an attempt
to use threats and intimidation to silence
independent media in Sudan and thus to ensure the
continuity of the practice of self-censorship. SOAT
strongly protests against the actions of the NSA and
calls on the government to take effective measures
to end the legal, political, and personal harassment
of journalists and to amend the press law, and to
end state monopoly on the media.
For information on the media and freedom of
expression in Sudan please go to the
following websites:
RSF: www.rsf.fr
Amnesty International: www.amnesty.org
IMS: www.i-m-s.d
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, May- June 05
Page 13 of 26
Death Penalty and Amputation
There are currently over two hundred people from
Darfur who are awaiting execution in Khartoum for
various offences against the state. In the last six two
months, Sudan has executed Amir Ahmed Tagelsir
for the 2002 murder of his friend Omer Bashir
Hassan Artoli. Mr. Amir was executed by hanging at
Kober Prison in the presence of the Prison Director,
two judges and his family. Amir had lodged an
appeal against his sentence, on 7 March 2005; the
Constitutional court rejected his appeal and
approved the high court decision to impose the
death penalty. The hanging followed Mr. Omer’s
family request to have ‘the qasas’, (punishment in of
the same kind’) in sharia law.
The government scheduled execution of Altayib Ali
Ahmed, (32 yrs) from the Fur tribe on 27 June 2005
at 14:30hrs was suspended pending an appeal before
the Constitutional Court. SOAT in conjunction with
Interights are to lodge the case before the African
Commission Mr. Altayib was arrested on suspicion
of joining and working with the rebel opposition in
the commission of the rebel attack on Al Fashir
airport, Darfur in April 2003. Mr. Altayib was
sentenced to death on 26 January 2004 and
transferred from Darfur to Kober prison in
Khartoum on 28-29 January 2004 to await execution.
Mr. Altayib was initially charged under articles 168
(armed
robbery),
50
(Undermining
the
Constitutional System), 51(Waging War against the
Persons facing the death
penalty
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Khamees Musa, arrested on 9 Jan
Abdella Ishag Mohamed, arrested on 8 Jan
Abdel Aziz Ahmed Ali, arrested on 7 Jan
Ahmed Mohamed Khaleel, arrested on 5 Jan
Adam Altahir Abdella, arrested on 5 Jan
Adam Rasheed Mohamed, arrested on 5 Jan
Omer Rasheed Mohamed, 5 Jan
The above IDPs were arrested from Outash camp,
North of Nyala following the death of a police
officer on 5 January 2005 in the camp during
disturbances. The men were initially detained at
Nyala Wasat (central) police station and charged
with murder with article 130 of the 1991 Penal Code.
Aside from Khamees Musa who was released on
bail on 6 February, the rest remain in Nyala prison
awaiting trail.
State), 182 (Manufacturing an Instrument for a
Criminal Purpose), 65(Criminal and Terrorist
Organisations), and 62 (Inciting Feelings of Unrest
among Regular Forces and Abetment of Disturbing
Order) of the 1991 Criminal Act.
In May 2004, following the proclamation of
Amnesty by President Omer al Bashir, SOAT
lawyers in Al Fashir submitted an application to the
General Prosecutor requesting an amnesty for Mr.
Altayib. The application led to the charge under
article 168 being dropped from the list of charges.
Whilst there has been no other recorded execution,
there has been a remarkable increase in civilians
charged with offences that carry the death penalty
particularly in the Darfur region for alleged crimes
against the state. Other charges that carry the death
sentence, amputations, cross amputations and other
inhumane and degrading punishments include
murder
and
armed
robbery.
SOAT
is
unconditionally opposed to the death penalty and
strongly condemns its use by the government of
Sudan. Mindful of the judicial system, SOAT is
gravely concerned by the special tribunal, which has
convened in Darfur to trial alleged perpetrators of
crimes in Darfur. SOAT calls on the government to
abolish the death sentence in these trials and to
ensure respect for rights to fair trial and to legal
appeal in accordance with international human
rights standards, for all the alleged perpetrators.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Zakarea Adam Abdella, 53 yrs, Omda of Birgid
tribe
Ali Yousif Adam, 38 yrs,
Mohamed Abdel rahman Abdella, 31 yrs
Musa Abdel Kareem Abdel, 29 yrs
Hassan Soulieman Ibrahim, 41 yrs
Mohamed Ibrahim Abdella, 25 yrs
Hafiz Adam Soulieman, 19 yrs
Adam Abdel raheam Abdel rahman, 35 yrs
Mohamed Hassan Abdel Ghani, 40 yrs
Yahya Ishag Ali, 18 yrs
Jafer Mohamed Abdella, 21 yrs
Soulieman Mohamed Arbab, 22 yrs
The above men from Birgid tribe were arrested in
Doumma village, 12 Km North of Nyala on 1
January 2005, by Military Intelligence on suspicion
of supporting the SLA and are charged under
articles 51 and article 58 (Abetment of Mutiny). The
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
men have all been granted bail; the case is pending
before the Attorney General.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Idris Adam Abdella, 60 yrs
Mohamed Ahmed Abdella, 35 yrs
Abdella Tairab Saif Aldeen, 28 yrs
Ibrahim Soulieman Abaker, 33 yrs
The four men were arrested from their homes in
Adwa village, 47 km North of Nyala, Southern
Darfur state by the armed forces on suspicion of
joining the SLA and charged at under articles 51 and
58. The men remain in detention in Nyala Prison
awaiting trial.
The following children and men were arrested from
Marla, Domma, Labado and Belail villages in Nyala
province, southern Darfur state between 16-17
December 2004 during aerial bombardment of the
village by government air forces. They were taken to
Nyala Wasat (central) police station charged under
articles 51 and 53 (Espionage against the country).
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
Tarig Dawood Jouma, 12 Yrs, Dajo
Ahmed Yousif Bourma, 10 Yrs, Dajo
Musa Ibrahim Mohamed, 17 Yrs, Fur
Adam Abaker Abdella, 33 Yrs, Tama
Alsadig Ibrahim Ahmed, 24 Yrs, Zghawa
Ali Mohamed Aldouma Adam, 22 Yrs, Shareefi
Ibrahim Mohamed Yahya, 52 Yrs, Felata
Abaker Yahya Omer, 33 Yrs, Fur
Abdel Razig Abdel Majeed, 65 Yrs, Fur
Fayiz Abdella Yagoyb, 22 Yrs, Fur
Adam Ahmed Abaker, 21 Yrs, Hawara
Mousa Hassan Abdella, 60 Yrs, Zaghawa
Mousa Wadi Hassan, 50 Yrs, Zaghawa,
Abdel Hameed Neel Salim, 65 Yrs, Zaghawa
Ibrahim Hassan Musa, 58 Yrs, Zaghawa
Hassan Ibrahim Mohamed, 70 Yrs, Hawara
Adam Douda Ismaeal, 52 Yrs, Zaghawa
Shareif Adam Babikir, 25 Yrs, Tama
Abdel Haleam Abdella Abaker, 45 Yrs, Birgid
Mohamed Ibrahim Tairab, 25 Yrs, Tama
Yasir Abdella Musa, 19 Yrs, Zaghawa
Moustafa Abaker Ali, 19 Yrs, Berti
Emam Ahmed Abdel Aziz, 35 Yrs , Birgid
Ahmed Ishag Omer, 45 Yrs, Zaghawa
Soulieman Adam Tairab, 35 Yrs, Birgid
Yahya Abdella Tom, 25 Yrs, Tama
Page 14 of 26
50. Abdel Jebbar Shareif, 20 Yrs, Zaghawa
The children and the men are currently released on
bail; the case is pending before the Attorney
General. On their release, the detainees received
medical treatment from SOAT partner organisation
in Nyala, Amel Medical Centre for Rehabilitation of
Torture Victims in Nyala. Whilst in detention, SOAT
lawyers in Nyala submitted an application to the
Attorney General requesting medical examination of
the detainees. The medical reports confirmed that
the men and the children had been subjected torture.
An investigation into the torture has yet to be
launched by the authorities.
51. Osman Ali Ahmed, (23 yrs), a farmer from Tur
village, Western Jebel Marra province, Southern
Darfur State was arrested by the armed forces on 24
December 2004. Nineteen days after his arrest
during which he was reportedly tortured, on 12
January 2004, Mr. Osman was transferred to Nyala
Wasat (central) police station and charged under
articles 51 and 58. He remains in detention at Nyala
prison.
On 22 February 2005, the armed forces arrested the
following men from the Zaghawa tribe in Shourom
village, Nyala province on suspicion of joining the
SLA
52. Mahmoud Abaker Osman, (38 yrs) merchant,
Zaghawa
53. Diggo Abdel Jabbar, Omda (community
leader), (45 yrs), merchant, Zaghawa
The men were reportedly subjected to severe torture
at the notorious military camp in Sanya Afondu
village (approximately 70 Km southeast of Nyala).
They were kept in a hole in the ground for several
days before being transferred to Nyala Wasat
(central) police station and charged under article 51.
The men were released on bail on 16 April 2005 and
are awaiting trial. Although the men have named
their alleged torturers, there has yet to be an
investigation into the appalling treatment that they
were subjected to.
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - June 2005
Page 15 of 26
Human Rights Defenders & aid
workers
The situation for human rights defenders remains
precarious in Sudan. As the conflict in Darfur
continues, the ‘essential actors of our time’ remain
the target of the government of Sudan security
apparatus. Over the last six months, the government
has used several tactics in its resolve to silence
human rights defenders and humanitarian aid
workers inside Sudan ranging from restrictions on
their movement, refusals for visas for international
NGOs, harassments to arbitrary arrests. In May
2005, two Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)-Holland
staff members were arrested by security forces and
charged with 66 (Publication of False News), 96
(Omission to Produce Document or Deliver
Statement) and 53 for a briefing paper published by
MSF-Holland in March 2005 in celebration of
International Women’s Day entitled ‘The Crushing
Burden of Rape: Sexual Violence in Darfur’.
Reportedly, the government had requested through
the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) for MSFHolland to refrain from publishing the report
because the information contained in the report was
‘false’ and that ‘these kinds of false reports damage
the image of Sudan’. State authorities had requested
that MSF-Holland provide the medical documents
used in the publication. MSF-Holland refused on the
grounds
of
doctor-patience
confidentiality.
Following widespread international condemnation
of its targeting of human rights defenders, the
government has now dropped all the charges
against the two aid workers.
In a separate incident, on 14 June 2005, military
intelligence in Kassala, Eastern Sudan arrested
Khamees Tito Mayaout, (41 yrs), driver with United
Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
(UNICEF) on suspicion of photographing a military
area with his mobile phone. Mr. Khamees, lives in
Khartoum and belongs to the Dinka tribe was in
Kassala on a UNICEF mission to the Eastern Sudan.
Mr. Khamees was initially taken to military
detention centre in Kassala and detained for one
night. On 15 June, Mr. Khamees was transferred to
Police offices in Kassala and charged with offences
against the state. Mr. Khamees has been released on
bail. Again on 11 June 2005, Security forces arrested
and detained Eisa Adam Abdulla, (40 yrs) from the
Fur tribe, a Guard for a petroleum company in
Alshafa-Khartoum and a volunteer activist
representing the interests of the population of Soba
Aradi in light of the the government scheme of
relocating IDPs as part a larger area-replanning
programme. Mr. Eisa was arrested near Farouq
Mosque in the central Khartoum after attending a
meeting with lawyers from Darfur during which he
provided the lawyers with information on events in
the Soba Aradi area. Mr. Eisa was released the
following day.
SOAT condemns the targeting of international and
national humanitarian organisations working in
Sudan particularly Darfur and calls on the
government authorities to refrain from threats
against national and international NGOs and to
ensure that humanitarian organisations are able to
conduct their invaluable work in Sudan in a manner
which does not impede their work.
SOAT commends the work of human rights
defenders in Sudan who even as targets for arbitrary
arrests,
incommunicado
detention,
constant
intimidation and threats of reprisals remains
steadfast in their unfailing struggle to gain access to
information and to improve respect for basic human
rights in the country.
Soba Aradi June 2005 - Almidan (issue no: 2002-May 2005)
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - June 2005
Page 16 of 26
Arbitrary arrests
The misuse of power by government security apparatus has ensured that arbitrary arrests and threats of
arrests remain commonplace. The government lack of a national mandate for it to govern has not prevented it
from mobilising its security organs to respond to any form of organised activities has been met with gross
human rights violations including indiscriminate killings, mass arrests and harassments. The continuing
pattern of police abuse of power and use of excessive force warrants a forceful response and we are calling on
the GoS to firmly condemn the action of its security forces.
SOAT reported in April 2005 the death of Khalid
Mohamed Nour Okad (22 yrs), student at Neilien
University in Khartoum from injuries sustained
during a student demonstration on 13 April 2005 in
the centre of Khartoum.
SOAT also reported the death of Nagmeldin Gafar
Adam Eisa, student at Delanj University in
Kordofan, (28 yrs) on 11 April 2005 after he was shot
by police forces during a protest inside Delanj
University premises against the conduct of Students
Union Elections. There has yet to be an investigation
into Mr. Nagmeldin’s death.
Despite legal appeals by both Mr. Khalid and Mr.
Nagmeldin family, the government has yet to
establish an inquiry into the events and has taken no
measures to bring the perpetrators to trial.
Death certificate of Mr. Khalid Mohammed
The following students arrested in April 2005 by
security officers in Delanj, South Kordofan remain in
detention.
54. Mohamed Mirghani Musa Yousif (22yrs)
55. Yousif Dafalla
56. Mohammed Hassan Alim (22 yrs), whereabouts
unknown.
The government violent crackdown on students has
not been restricted to Khartoum and Kordofan.
Students in the troubled Darfur region continue to
be targeted by government forces.
The following students arrested inside Al Fashir
University, North Darfur State by security forces on
19 April remains in detention. The students were
arrested following a presentation of a memorandum
to AU Monitors in Alfashir on 31 March in support
of the referral of the situation in Darfur to the ICC.
54. Ahmed Ibrahim Sabil; Medical Student, from
the Zaghawa tribe and member of the Popular
National Congress (PNC)
55. Mohamed Abdelazeez Karamalla
56. Khalid Abdalla Raigo, Student in Faculty of
Education, from the Zaghawa tribe
57. Hashim
Fakhereldin,
(Shot
with
live
ammunition, receiving medical treatment in
hospital)
Notwithstanding the expected arrival of John
Garang as Vice President in July as part of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the government
has failed to exercise restraint in its response to civil
unrest in the Soba Aradi area of Khartoum, which is
populated largely by IDPs from the two-decade war
in the South. Violence erupted in Soba Aradi
between protesters and security forces on 18 May
2005, and led to the death of several people
including fourteen police officers and six civilians.
In response, the government has deployed extra
police, military and security personnel on the streets
of Soba in what it claims as a means of restoring
peace. Over 200 people have been arrested including
women and children. Among those arrested, one
person died whilst in police and security forces
custody and the whereabouts of many of these are
unknown to their families. The following are the
names of some of the persons who have been
arrested and remain in detention.
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - June 2005
61. Anton Lakuto Henry, (17 yrs), student at St.
Philip School arrested by security officers on 19
May 2005. Following his arrest, Mr. Anton’s
father, chief of the Latoka tribe (south Sudan),
‘Sultan’ visited the police authorities on several
occasions to register a complaint against the
detention of his son by security officers;
however the police refused to register the
complaint.
62. Alamien Sulaiman Kouko, (13 yrs), lives in
from the Nuba Mountains.
63. On 24 May 2005, security forces and police
officers arrested several people including tribal
leaders, families and children. Among those
arrested are:
64. Siddig Ismail Musa; (43 yrs)
65. Abdel Mageed Ali Adam; (42 yrs); Burno tribe
66. Eisa Bashier ELZain; (48 yrs); Gawamaa tribe
leader
67. El Nadief Mohammed Abdelwahid; (53 yrs);
Riziegat tribal leader
68. Eisa Zackary; (41 yrs); Riziegat tribal leader
69. Eisa Ahmed Alawad; (31 yrs) and his wife,
Salamat tribe
70. Aldoghry Ali Hamed; Bargo tribe
71. Abdalla Adam Salih; Bargo tribe
72. Adam Mohamed Dawalbait; Fur tribe
73. Balla Adam Alzain; (42 yrs); Gawamaa tribal
leader
74. Two brothers; Khalid Abdullah Abushanb, and
Adil Abdalla; Miseriya tribe
75. Hussain Sualiman Momen, Salamat tribal
leader
76. Badawi Hassen Ebrahim; from Kurdofan state
77. Adam Makey Adam; Bargo tribe
78. Ali Dawood Adam; Fur tribe
79. Ali Adam Al Habou; Falata tribal leader
80. Ezaldeen Mohamed Hassan; (65 yrs); Fur tribe;
(released on 30 May)
81. AlRasheed Khaleell, Bargo tribe, his brother
Madani Khalil and his wife who is from the
Nuba mountains
82. Abdalla Adam Eshag; (23 yrs); student at
Omdurman Islamic university, Fur tribe
83. Adam Abdullah Khamis; Fur tribe
84. Hassan Zakria Haroon; Fur tribe
85. Zakria Elrakhis; Miseriya tribal leader
86. Ahmed Adam Elnour; Fur tribe
87. Ahmed Adam Elnour; Fur tribe
88. Ahmed Indris Mohamed; Fur tribe
89. Awadia Mohamed Abdelbagi; Fur tribe; (W)
Page 17 of 26
90. Salah Babikir Mohamed; Fur tribe
91. Maky Mohamed Hassan; Bargo tribe
92. Alsaeh Salih Abdulatif, from Kordofan state
93. Mohamed Ahmed
94. Awad Hussein
95. Sabir Mohamed
96. Hassen Eldegair, Fur tribe,
97. Ahmed Hussain
98. Yagoub Baher; Selaihab tribe
99. Abdalaa Younis
100. Mohamed Altony; from the Nuba Moutains
101. Abdelkareem Garga; Fur tribe
102. Two brothers, Goro Khamees and Rasheed;
Latoka tribe(south Sudan)
103. Alhady Ali Alrady; Falata tribal leader
On 27 May 2005, security and police forces arrested
the following persons form Soba Aradi Market:
104. AbdRrahman Babiker Mohamed; (40 yrs); Fur
tribe, and his cousin
105. Ahmed Abdalla Mohamed; (25 yrs)
106. Adam Zakaria; (35 yrs); Fur tribe
107. Abubakar Abdurrahman; Fur tribe
108. Suliman Ismail; Gawamaa; tribe
Persons arrested and detained by Security Forces on
2 June 2005:
110. Traiza John, (35 yrs), (W) Traiza is a Zandi
married woman with three children; the youngest (7
yrs) old.
111. Jimmy Atanasio, (17 yrs) During Jimmy’s
arrest, security officers informed his family that
Jimmy would remain in detention and will only be
released once his brother had surrendered to them.
Soba Aradi Police Station - Almidan (issue no: 2002-May 2005
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.
SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - June 2005
Page 18 of 26
Human Rights in Darfur
While the security situation and direct attacks against civilians have improved somewhat in the devastated
region of Darfur, the human rights situation remains dire with widespread impunity. The government attempts
at holding gross human rights violators accountable with the establishment of a Special Tribunal in Darfur to trial
persons accused of war crimes in the region only helps to entrench impunity in Darfur. Even as SOAT recognizes
that the ICC is “complementary to national criminal jurisdictions”, the timing of the courts described by Jan
Pronk as “interesting” along with the gravity of the crimes and the level of responsibility borne by the defendants
for whom it is to sit judgement upon demonstrates the government in Khartoum determination to prevent
accountability and to ensure the heinous crimes committed in Darfur goes unpunished. Consequently these
courts cannot and must not be a substitute to the ICC and as such SOAT calls on the ICC and its organs to
immediately outline the legal status and implications of the court vis-à-vis ICC.
Arbitrary arrests;
torture; fear of torture
The following persons were arrested for their
perceived support of the rebel opposition group,
Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), by government
security apparatus:
112. Abaker Abdel Khalig Mohamed Khameas (35
yrs), arrested on 1 February 2005 in Zalingy - facing
no official charges, remains in detention at security
offices in Zalingy.
113.
Abdel Algaffar Musa Faraj, (22yrs),
student, Fur tribe arrested on 14 February 2005 in
Jorouf Village - charged with articles 51 and 58 remains in Nyala prison.
114.
Abdel Rahman Hussain Salih, 31 yrs, Fur
tribe arrested on 14 November 2004 from near
Nertati – facing no official charges, remains in
detention at Nyala Prison.
115.
Abdel Rahman Yagoub Amir, (32 yrs),
Zaghawa tribe arrested on 19 February 2005 from
his house in Nyala Hey Aljeer – whereabouts
unknown.
116.
Abdel Shafi Salih Wadi, (18 yrs), student,
Zaghawa tribe, arrested in Shengil Toubaya villag
on 12 March 2005, charged with article 51 - appeared
before the Specialised Criminal Courts for his first
session on 17 April 2005, remains in Nyala prison.
117. Abdella Abaker Osman, (36 yrs), Zaghawa
tribe arrested on 1 November 2004 from his home in
Nyala, Khartoum Belail neighbourhood – facing no
official charges, remains in detention at Nyala
Prison.
118.
Abdella Mohamed Fadul, (40 yrs),
Zaghawa tribe arrested on 15 February 2005 in
Nyala - facing no official charges, remains in
detention at security offices in Nyala.
119.
Abdella Mohamed Khamees, Zaghawa
arrested on 20 December 2004 in Nyala - facing no
official charges, remains in Military custody centre
in Marla.
120.
Adam Abaker Bakour, 35 yrs, Merchant,
arrested on 17 January 2005 in Nyala central market
– facing no official charges, remains in detention at
security offices in Nyala.
121.
Adam Abdella Mohamed Tor, (34 yrs),
kidnapped from a passenger bus travelling from
Belail IDP camp to Nyala on 20 April 2005 by armed
men in military uniform – whereabouts unknown
until 8 May 2005. Detainees released on 08 May 2005
from security forces detention centre in Nyala
confirmed that Adam is being detained and is facing
no official charges.
122.
Adam Ahmed Mohamed Arbab, (50 yrs),
Fur, arrested on 31 May 2005 from Shetaya village –
remains in security detention in Nyala. His family
have been denied access.
123.
Adam Fadoul Abaker (43 yrs) arrested on 3
March 2005 from his home in the Hey Khartoum
Bilail neighbourhood of Nyala- facing no official
charges, remains in detention at security offices in
Nyala.
124.
Adam Musa Ahmed, (30 yrs), farmer,
Zaghawa tribe arrested on 22 March 2005 in Sanya
Afondu village - facing no official charges, remains
in detention at security offices in Nyala.
125.
Ahmed Abdel Mawla Daheya, farmer, Dajo
tribe arrested on 25 October 2004 – facing no official
charges, remains in detention at Nyala Prison.
126.
Ahmed Ali Musa, (32 yrs), merchant
arrested in Nyala on 5 March 2005 – facing no
official charges, remains in detention at security
offices in Nyala.
127.
Ahmed Ali Soulieman, (25yrs), Tounjour
tribe arrested on 1 February 2005 from his work in
Hey Al Jabel, Nyala - facing no official charges,
remains in detention at security offices in Nyala.
128.
Ahmed Manees Maalla, (60 yrs), kidnapped
from a passenger bus travelling from Belail IDP
camp to Nyala on 20 April 2005 by armed men in
military uniform – whereabouts unknown until 8
May 2005. Detainees released on 08 May 2005 from
security forces detention centre in Nyala confirmed
that Ahmed is being detained and is facing no
official charges.
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
129.
Alnour Adam Alsafi Abdella, (25 yrs), IDP
from Birgid tribe arrested on 17 March 2005 in Sanya
Afondu village - charged with articles 51 and 58 remains in Nyala prison.
130.
Araiba Adam, (39 yrs), Fur, arrested on 20
December 2004 in Nyala - facing no official charges,
remains in Military custody centre in Marla.
131.
Bakheet Alhaj Musa Sabeel, (26 yrs), IDP
from Birgid tribe arrested on 14 March from Sanya
Afondu IDP camp - charged with articles 51 and 58 remains in Nyala prison.
132.
Haroun Zakarea Osman, (36 yrs), a farmer
belonging to the Zaghawa tribe arrested on 19
March in Bajo village, charged under articles 51 and
58 – remains in Nyala prison.
133.
Hassan Younis Abdella Ateam, (25 yrs),
Zaghawa tribe arrested on 15 February 2005 in
Nyala - facing no official charges, remains in
detention at security offices in Nyala.
134.
Hussain Ahmed Haroun (Omda - Mayor),
(23 yrs), Zaghawa tribe arrested on 22 March from
Bajo village - charged with articles 51 and 58 remains in Nyala prison.
135.
Hussain Younis Abdella Ateam, (25 yrs),
Zaghawa tribe arrested on 15 February 2005 in
Nyala - facing no official charges, remains in
detention at security offices in Nyala.
136.
Ibraheam Hussain Wadi, (24 yrs) Zaghawa
tribe arrested on 9 April in Nyala hospital after
visiting Jamal Abdella Soulieman, his cousin –
released on 8 May 2005.
137.
Ibrahim Abaker Bakour, (45 yrs), Merchant,
arrested on 17 January 2005 in Nyala central market
– facing no official charges, released from detention
at security offices in Nyala on 8 May.
138.
Ibrahim Khidir Abdella, (30 yrs),
kidnapped from a passenger bus travelling from
Belail IDP camp to Nyala on 20 April 2005 by armed
men in military uniform – whereabouts unknown
until 8 May 2005. Detainees released on 08 May 2005
from security forces detention centre in Nyala
confirmed that Ibrahim is being detained and is
facing no official charges.
139. Idrees Jai Khmees, (55 yrs), Zaghawa,
arrested on 20 December 2004 in Nyala - facing no
official charges, remains in Military custody centre
in Marla.
140.
Ishag Abaker Adam, (20 yrs), IDP, Tama
tribe arrested in Kalma IDP camp - charged with
articles 51 and 58 - remains in Nyala prison.
141.
Ishag Bol Bol (38 yrs), farmer arrested on 15
August 2004 in Nertati - 10 months after his arrest,
facing no official charges, remains in detention at
Security Offices in Zalingy.
142.
Ishag Mohamed Adam, (29 yrs), Fur tribe
arrested on 15 March 2005 in Abu Ajoura village -
Page 19 of 26
charged with articles 51 and 58, remains in Nyala
prison.
143.
Ishag Mohamed Adam, (29 yrs), IDP from
Birgid tribe arrested on 17 March 2005 in Sanya
Afondu village - charged with articles 51 and 58 remains in Nyala prison.
144.
Jamal Abdella Soulieman, (23 yrs),
Zaghawa tribe arrested on 9 April 2005 in Nyala
hospital following an armed militia attack on Hejair
Tono Village, during which he sustained serious
injuries – charged with article 51 and released on
bail on 2 May 2005.
145.
Moudasir Soulieman Osman Bahr Aldean
(17 yrs), a student arrested on 12 October 2004 in
Zalingy - facing no official charges, remains in
detention at Zalingy Prison.
146.
Musa Moukhtar Issa, (36 yrs), teacher, Fur
tribe, arrested on 20 November 2004 from Belail
village - charged with articles 51 and 58 , remains in
Nyala prison.
147.
Omer Soulieman Haroun (57 yrs) arrested
on 28 September 2004 in Zalingy – nine months after
his arrest, facing no official charges, remains in
detention at Zalingy Prison.
148.
Souleiman Khatir Khamees, (22 yrs),
Zaghawa, arrested on 20 December 2004 in Nyala facing no official charges, remains in Military
custody centre in Marla.
149.
Abdalla AlRahman, (24 yrs), arrested on 20
May in Kalma IDP after violent clashes between the
IDPs and police officers – facing no official charges,
remains in detention at Nyala Wasat (central) police
station.
150.
Abd AlGhani Ismail (32 yrs), arrested on 20
May in Kalma IDP after violent clashes between the
IDPs and police officers – facing no official charges,
remains in detention at Nyala Wasat (central) police
station.
151.
Karam Aldin Ibrahim Zakaria (Injured,
receiving medical), arrested on 20 May in Kalma
IDP after violent clashes between the IDPs and
police officers – facing no official charges, remains in
detention at Nyala Wasat (central) police station.
152.
Bashair Adam Suliman (38 yrs), arrested
on 20 May in Kalma IDP after violent clashes
between the IDPs and police officers – facing no
official charges, detained at security offices in Nyala.
153.
Abu Joumma Mohammed (28 yrs), arrested
on 20 May in Kalma IDP after violent clashes
between the IDPs and police officers – facing no
official charges, detained at security offices in Nyala.
154.
Salih Haroun Ahmed, (17 yrs), M, arrested
on 23 May 2005 in Sanya Afondu village because his
brother, Ibrahim Soulieman Adam has lodged a case
against the armed forces in Sanya Afondu for his
arbitrary detention and torture – remains in
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
detention without charges at Sanya Afondu military
camp.
155.
Najmel dean Abdel Majead, (35 yrs),
arrested on 23 May 2005 in Sanya Afondu village
because his brother, has launched legal proceedings
against the armed forces in Sanya Afondu for his
arbitrary detention and torture – remains in
detention without charges at Sanya Afondu military
camp.
156.
Yousif Ali Omer, (36 yrs), arrested on 23
May 2005 in Sanya Afondu village because his
brother, Ibrahim Soulieman Adam has launched
legal proceedings against the armed forces in Sanya
Afondu for his arbitrary detention and torture –
remains in detention without charges at Sanya
Afondu military camp.
157.
Hafiz Mohamed Ismaeal, (23 yrs), arrested
on 24 May 2005 in Sanya Afondu village because he
works for Ibrahim Soulieman Adam – remains in
detention without charges at Sanya Afondu military
camp.
158.
Ismaeal Abu Solouk, (40 yrs), Birgid tribe,
arrested on 23 May 2005 in Sanya Afondu village
because he works for Ibrahim Soulieman Adam –
remains in detention without charges at Sanya
Afondu military camp.
159.
Alhaj Alnour Mohamed, 45 yrs, Zaghawa,
arrested on 23 May 2005 in Sanya Afondu village
because he works for Ibrahim Soulieman Adam–
remains in detention without charges at Sanya
Afondu military camp.
160.
Mohamed Ahmed Adam, 25 yrs, Zaghawa,
arrested on 23 May 2005 in Sanya Afondu village
because he works for Ibrahim Soulieman Adam –
remains in detention without charges at Sanya
Afondu military camp.
161.
Alsadig Ahmed Harba arrested on 19
March 2004, from Jeway Kheen village on suspicion
of participating in an attack on Bouram town on the
10 March 2004 by the SLA – released on 28 May 2005
and is facing no official charges.
162.
Altayib Abdel Aziz Jiddo, (28 yrs), farmer,
Zaghawa tribe arrested at the entrance to Nyala
hospital on suspicion of joining the SLA- remains in
detention at police headquarters in Nyala where he
and is facing no official charges.
Women in Darfur
Attacks on women and girls particularly acts of
sexual violence continue to be perpetrated with
impunity in Darfur despite government statements
to the contrary. Since January, SOAT has
documented the death of one woman during a rape
Page 20 of 26
attempt and the rape of dozens of women and girls
as young as 12. Many women and girls have been
subjected to severe beatings and many have
sustained serious injuries. Out of this figure, only
two cases have appeared before the courts
notwithstanding several applications made before
the courts by SOAT lawyers on behalf of the victims.
However, in many of the cases, intimidation and
harassment of victims and their families by security
forces have resulted in many of the victims
withdrawing the charges. On 5 May, armed militias
reportedly the Janjaweed militias attacked Turgidam
village and whipped two homemakers from the
Zaghawa tribe. The case is currently before Nyala
district attorney. SOAT network of lawyers are
providing legal aid. In November 2004, SOAT
reported the abduction of 13 IDPs from Kalma IDP
camp. The women and girls were kidnapped whilst
fetching firewood outside the camp. The
whereabouts of the women and girls are still
unknown and there has been no investigation into
their abduction. Again, on 31 May, five women from
Kalma IDP camp were attacked by armed militias
whilst fetching firewood outside the camp. One
woman was killed, two raped and two sustained
serious injuries. Killed: Fatima Abdella Abdel
Kareem; Wounded: Hawa Seneen (22 yrs) and
Khadeeja Soulieman Ahmed (24yrs) The attack has
been reported to African Union forces inside Kalma
camp and to Belail police station.
Mrs. Fanna Soukar Saw, (26 yrs), Dinka tribe
arrested in Zalingy on 11 February charged with
article 146 (Adultery) – remains in detention at
police offices in Zalingy, awaiting trial.
Hawa Soulieman Adam, (35 yrs), W, arrested on 23
May 2005 in Sanya Afondu village because her
brother, Ibrahim Soulieman Adam has launched
legal proceedings against the armed forces in Sanya
Afondu for his arbitrary detention and torture –
remains in detention without charges at Sanya
Afondu military camp.
Makka Soulieman Adam, (37 yrs), W, arrested on
23 May 2005 in Sanya Afondu village because her
brother, Ibrahim Soulieman Adam has launched
legal proceedings against the armed forces in Sanya
Afondu for his arbitrary detention and torture –
remains in detention without charges at Sanya
Afondu military camp.
SOAT, ARGO HOUSE, KILBURN PARK ROAD, LONDON, NW6 5LF, UK.
TEL: +44 (0) 20 76258055, FAX: +44 (0) 20 73722656, EMAIL: INFO@SOATSUDAN.ORG, WEBSITE: WWW.SOATSUDAN.ORG
SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
Page 21 of 26
Darfur: News from other organisations
Amnesty international 31
may 2005
Hassaballah Hassab al-Nabi Issa (m)
Ibrahim Mohammed Jadallah (m)
Mustafa Abdallah al-Jamil (m)
Mohammed Al-Jazuli Adam (m)
Yassin Yusuf Abdallah (m)
Jalal Shaib (m)
Isam Mohammed Yusuf (m)
The seven men named above were arrested on 22
May at around 8pm, at a private house in Nyala,
state capital of South Darfur, in western Sudan.
They are held incommunicado by National Security
at an unknown location, and they are at grave risk of
torture or other ill-treatment.
The seven are members of Arab nomad groups.
Most are linked to community leaders opposed to
the attacks, killings and forced displacement of
settled farming communities which have taken place
in Darfur over the past two years. They were
reportedly discussing ways of reconciling different
ethnic groups when they were arrested. They appear
to be prisoners of conscience, arrested solely for this
peaceful attempt to reconcile the parties to the
conflict in Darfur.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The government has held reconciliation ceremonies
between opposing ethnic groups, but it is unclear
how far these are merely for publicity or are real
reconciliations. The arrest of the seven members of
Arab groups is part of a pattern in Sudan where the
government has arrested those who seek
reconciliation or who publicise human rights
violations, rather than arresting the perpetrators of
the violations. The government has consistently
failed to bring members of the Janjaweed militias to
justice for killings or rape. However, on 30 May it
charged the director of Médecins sans Frontières
(MSF), Netherlands, with crimes against the state for
publishing false information because of a report
made public in March on the large numbers
displaced people being raped in Darfur.
Christian aid 26 may
2005
The two-hour drive from Nyala in south Darfur to
the former rebel stronghold of Labado provides a
snapshot of the devastating military tactics used by
both rebels and the Sudanese government and its
ally, the Janjaweed.
It is a scene of utter desolation, not a human being
or animal to be seen. All the villages are abandoned
and many are burnt-out. Scorched pots lie on the
ground; the constant wind blows sand into the
empty, forlorn huts. The once fertile fields still have
the stubble from last year’s crops...................
Halima Salh Hasan, 40, fled with her five children to
Sheriya, a journey which took them three days on
foot. They are now living in a shelter made of sticks
and rags next to a burnt-out spot in the sand
showing the shape of her previous home.
‘Before we had fields and animals,’ she said. ‘Now I
am too frightened to go to the fields.’
Her eldest daughter, Saida Yama lives close by with
her husband and 17-month-old baby. Her shelter is
made of sticks and matting. Just in front are the
burnt walls of her mud hut, the thatched roof went
up in smoke.
‘I worry about my house that was burnt, I worry
about the rains,’ she said. Everyone is worried about
the imminent rainy season – none of these shelters
will withstand heavy rain and strong winds.
.............On the drive back from Labado to Nyala,
another village was burning – proof that the conflict
is
never
very
far
away
in
Darfur.
SOAT, ARGO HOUSE, KILBURN PARK ROAD, LONDON, NW6 5LF, UK.
TEL: +44 (0) 20 76258055, FAX: +44 (0) 20 73722656, EMAIL: INFO@SOATSUDAN.ORG, WEBSITE: WWW.SOATSUDAN.ORG
SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
Page 22 of 26
Soat news
Throughout June, as a lead up to June 26th
International Torture Day, SOAT and its partner
organisation, Khartoum Center for Human Rights
and Environmental Development, Amel Centre for
Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture
in collaboration with the Human Rights Advisory
Council embarked on a campaign for the ratification
by the GoS of the UN Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment. A series of conferences,
talks and seminars were held in 7 cities and towns.
Speakers for the series of seminars included SOAT
staff lawyers, journalists, prominent Sudanese
lawyers, representatives from the Aman network,
and a representative from UNHCHR. The events
focussed on strategies for advocacy for ratification,
and the status of torture under Sharia law.
Events were held in;
• Nyala, 5-7 June, Farmers Union Building
attendance included judges , lawyers, law
enforcement personnel and members of the
public
• Omdurman, 9 June, Abdelkarim Mergani
Cultural Centre (Faisal Elbagir, Salih Mahmoud,
Dr. Mursi)
• Khartoum North, Abdel Nagib Imam Centre
where Amin Medani, prominent lawyer, spoke
about the CAT
• Kassala, 16 June
• Khartoum Bar association, 15 June
• Kosti, 19 June
• Al Azhari University (Khartoum state), 20 June
• Upper Nile University, 21 June
• Medani City Bar Association, 25 June
• Agricultural Bank, Khartoum, 24-25 June
The launch of the campaign was highly received by
the media, including national TV, radio and
newspapers.
On 26 June, the final day of the campaign, an event
was held in Khartoum attended by representatives
from the
International rehabilitation council for
treatment, United Nations, Ministry of foreign
Affairs and Advisory Council for Human Rights.
The day included an art exhibition on torture. The
event received coverage from al-Jazeera, al-Arabiya,
and Reuters news service.
26 June Art Exhibition
• 15 May 2005, KCHRED and the Amel centre
organized a farewell ceremony for Mr. and Mrs
Homayoun Ali Zada, the UN human rights high
commissioner representative in Sudan. The event
was attended by representatives of UNMIS
mission
in
Sudan,
local
NGOs
representatives, delegates from the European
Union and the staff and volunteers of
SOAT/Sudan.
• 23 - 24 May 2005, KCHRED in collaboration with
the ICRC organized a Journalist Workshop in
SOAT, ARGO HOUSE, KILBURN PARK ROAD, LONDON, NW6 5LF, UK.
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
Khartoum. Topic areas covered included Origin
& Development of IHL and the RC & RC
Movement, IHL & Human Rights Law, Media
coverage in Conflict Areas, the International
Criminal Court and Media & Armed Conflicts.
Page 23 of 26
SOAT would like to thank the following for
choosing SOAT programmes in Darfur as
beneficiary for their fundraising activities.
University of Arizona (US) Students for Darfur donated $575 to SOAT work in Darfur.
Des Barkus and Bee Bartlett for organizing a
Benefit Concert held at Benson Hall, Oxford on 11
June. The event raised £440 which they have
donated to SOAT work in Darfur.
“On the 11th June, we organized a small music festival in
our village hall to raise money for the crisis in Darfur.
Many local bands volunteered their time and talents to
play for us. The hall was decorated with African wall
hangings, handmade Darfur posters and by evening,
candlelit. We had a barbeque with the addition of
delicious beans and rice, face painting and a bar. With the
good fortune of warm weather we were able to spill out of
the hall onto the field, where the children could play.
Media coverage in Conflict Areas by Faisal Elbagir
As part of SOAT ongoing advocacy and lobbying
work, On International Day in Support of Victims
of Torture, 26 June, KCHRED and the Amel Centre
in Darfur launched an intensive and widespread
campaign for the government of Sudan ratification
of Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(CAT)
In London, staff and members attended a photo
exhibition entitled “The different faces of torture in
the United Kingdom”, commissioned by Redress, an
organisation that SOAT works closely with.
As part of our fight to ensure respect for human
rights and international humanitarian law, SOAT
has endorsed the following campaigns:
• U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
Statement Calling for Solutions to End the
Warehousing of Refugees. The campaign is part of
a worldwide movement for refugees to enjoy not
merely the minimal right of nonrefoulement but also
the basic human rights to work and freedom of
movement even as they await durable solutions.
• Amnesty International, the Centre on Housing
Rights and Forced Evictions and Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights Statement on Forced
Evictions in Zimbabwe
The event was from 2pm-10pm and was a resounding
success and by popular demand intends to organize a
similar but bigger event in September. We would like to
find a different venue as our parish Council charged
£135.00 for the hire of the hall which was a considerable
chunk of the profit. We will also arrange our own license
to sell alcohol as using a local publican’s meant we made
no profit on drinks sales.
All that said, £440 is a start and may have helped to raise
awareness of the crisis occurring in Darfur. It is our
intention to continue raising money and hopefully our
next music festival will be on a bigger scale. With the
experience learned from this first event, we hope to create
more profit from the next event.”
For further information on these items,
Sudan and relevant organisations please
go to the following websites:
Amnesty international:www.amnesty.org
OMCT: www.omct.org
Reporters without borders: www.rsf.fr
IRIN: www.irinnews.org
Justice Africa: www.justiceafrica.org
Redress: www.redress.org
HRW: www.hrw.org
Médecins Sans Frontières: www.msf.org
Women Watch: www.un.org/womenwatch
Article 19: www.article19.org
IRCT: www.irct.org
IMS: www.i-m-s.dk
Order no. 702, establishing the special court in
Darfur*
SOAT, ARGO HOUSE, KILBURN PARK ROAD, LONDON, NW6 5LF, UK.
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
Page 24 of 26
The Chief Justice, cognizant of the order establishing the
Special Criminal Court for Events in Darfur issued on
the 7th of June 2005, and in accordance with Section 2 of
the First Chapter of the said order, issues the following
decision:
5. The court shall be competent to determine the
following:
The Court is established with the following
members:
Justice Mahmoud Mohamed Said Abukum,
Supreme Court Judge, President;
Justice Ahmed Muktar, Judge of the Court of
Appeal, Member;
Justice Abdelkarim Mohamed Judge of the Court of
Appeal, Member
(2) Information transferred to it from the Committee
formed in Accordance with the Ministry of Justice
Resolution No., 3/2005 issued on the 19th of January
2005 for the purposes of investigating the offences
mentioned in the fact finding committee report.
The Court should immediately commence to carry
out its tasks in accordance with the Order of
Establishment.
“Issued under my hand on the 5th of Jamada al Ulla the
year 1426, equivalent to the 11th of June 2005, Jelladahdin
Mohamed Osman
***
In the name of God, the merciful the compassionate,
Chapter 3 Court Procedures
Order of Establishment of the Special Criminal
Court for Events in Darfur
In accordance with Section 10 of the Judiciary Act
[of 1986], read [in association with] Section 6 (e) and
14 of the Criminal Procedures Act of the 1991 I issue
the following order:
The name of the order and its commencement
1. This order shall be called “order of establishment
of the Special Criminal Court for Darfur Incidents”
and shall be valid from the day of signature.
Chapter 1 Formation and Residence
Formation
2. The Chief Justice shall constitute the Court with
three judges under the Chair of a Supreme Court
Judge provided that the members’ rank should not
be less than a public court judge.
Residence
3. The Court shall reside at El Fashir City.
4. The Court shall convene its sessions at the
residence determined at Section 3 above. It may also
move and convene its sessions in any other place
that it chooses.
Chapter 2 Competence
(1) Acts, which constitute crimes in accordance with
the Sudanese Penal Code and other penal laws
(3) Any other charges in accordance with any other
law as determined by the Chief Justice
Summoning of the Accused
6. The accused shall be summoned and handed the
Prosecution papers before at least 72 hours before
the date fixed for the session
Retention of Counsel
7. The accused shall have the right to assign a legal
representative of his choice to undertake his
defence. The representative shall be allowed to meet
with the accused, to address the court and to
examine and cross-examine witnesses within the
scope of the evidence provided by the witness.
Public Nature of Sessions
8. Court sessions shall be held in public and the
public may be present. The court may order, in
accordance with its discretion, at any stage of the
trial, that the public in general, or any particular
person, be prevented from attending, or continuing
to attend at, the session, when it deems that the
nature of the procedures so requires.
Commencement of Court Procedures
9. Court procedures shall commence with the
registration of the accused or accused persons’
names and personal details.
Prosecution Case
10.
(1) The representative of the prosecutor shall open
his case with a preliminary statement in which he
cites the descriptions of the crimes alleged and
summarizes the evidence he anticipates to offer as
proof of the guilt of the accused
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
(2) The investigator as a prosecution witness shall
present the documents he has acquired for purposes
of the prosecution case.
(3) Subsequently the prosecution representative
shall examine the other prosecution witnesses and
the accused or his representative may cross examine
them. The prosecution may re-examine.
Court Powers in Questioning the Accused
11.
(1) After hearing the prosecution witnesses, the
Court may put any questions it deems necessary to
the accused in order to provide him with an
opportunity to clarify any circumstances, which may
appear against him in the testimony.
Page 25 of 26
13.
(1) If the accused answers that he only intends to call
character witnesses the Court will ask him to
present his defence.
(2) The accused or his legal representative may
examine the defence witnesses in accordance with
the list presented and after the cross examination
and re-examination, he may, or his legal
representative may, present the final statement of
defence.
(3) The representative of the prosecution may reply
with final statements and he may present his final
statement even if the defence does not wish to
present a final statement.
The Oath
(2) The accused shall not be liable if he refuses to
answer these questions, or answers incorrectly, but
the Court may infer what it deems just from that
refusal or answer.
(3) The Court afterwards will cite the charge or the
charges to the accused, providing any necessary
explanations and will request the accused to enter a
plea for every charge.
(4) If the accused enters a plea of guilty he should
register his confession and the court may on its
discretion decide to convict the accused in
accordance with the confession.
(5) If the accused enters a plea of not guilty or does
not enter a plea the court should continue the trial
and in these cases, the accused or his representative
should declare a summary of his defence.
14. Any witnesses giving testimony before the Court
in accordance with this Chapter should swear or
declare truthfully to tell the truth, all the truth and
nothing but the truth. The Court may, however, on
hearing the testimony of any person for reasons of
youth or ignorance, or for any other reasons, decide
that he does not know the nature of the oath and
may hear his testimony without oath or declaration,
if the Court determines that the witness has
sufficient understanding to justify hearing of the
testimony, and that the witness understands the
duty of telling the truth.
Procedures after conviction
(6) The accused shall be asked after questioning
under section 11 (1) above if he intends to summon
defence witnesses in accordance with the list
presented, and to present character witnesses.
15. The Court may, after issuing a conviction, ask
the accused whether he wishes to call character
witnesses, if has not so done, and after hearing those
witnesses, if any, the accused will be asked to
declare whether if he wishes to say anything to
mitigate the punishment and after such declaration,
the court should adjourn the session for
deliberation.
(7) If the accused answers that he does not intend to
bring any defence witnesses the representative of
the prosecution may summarize the case against the
accused.
Adhering to the Majority Opinion
16. The court members shall deliberate upon the
matters before it and the majority decision shall be
adopted in case of divergence of views.
Summoning the Defence Witnesses
12. If the accused wishes to call defence witnesses a
list of their names should be prepared and handed
to the court within 72 hours of the date of
announcement of the charge and the entry of the
plea.
Registering the Dissenting Opinion
17. Any dissenting opinion shall be registered with
its reasoning on the record but it shall not be
included in the ruling.
The ruling
The Defence Case
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SOAT, Issue No: 49, may - june 2005
18. Upon termination of the Court procedures and
after deliberation the Court should issue its ruling
and declare it without delay.
19. Despite the provisions of the foregoing chapter,
the Court should follow the Criminal Procedure Act
of 1991 and apply the rules of evidence of the
Evidence Act of 1994
Chapter 4 Court Proceedings
Methods of Appeal
Page 26 of 26
(2) The rulings of the Specialized Court of Appeal
may be appealed in before a chamber to be formed
by the Chief Justice from five Federal Supreme
Court Judges.
(3) In determining the appeal the appellate
authorities shall follow the procedures mentioned in
the Criminal Procedures Act of the 1991.
***
Issued under my hand on the first day of Jamad al Ulla
1426, equivalent to 7th day of June 2005,
Jenaladin Mohamed Osman.
20.
(1) Rulings decisions and orders issued by the Court
may be appealed to a Special Court of appeal to be
formed by the Chief Justice.
*This document was translated from Arabic to English by Abdelsalam Hassan and edited by Deirdre Clancy.
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