Mr
Salih Mahmoud Osman was arrested by members of the National Security Agency
(NSA) on 1 February. He has been kept in incommunicado detention since then,
first at the NSA headquarters in Wad Medani and, from 3 February onward, at an
undisclosed location in Khartoum.
"Unless
the Sudanese authorities charge him with a criminal offence and bring him
before an independent and impartial tribunal, Mr. Osman must be immediately
released" said Linda Besharaty-Movaed, ICJ/CIJL Legal Advisor. "The
grounds for his arrest and detention, as well as his location, must urgently be
made public, and he must be allowed to communicate with his lawyer".
Even
though the reason of Mr. Osman's arrest and detention are not known, there is
reason to believe they are linked to his provision of legal aid to detainees
facing capital punishment and victims of human rights abuses in Darfur
province, the site of an ongoing internal armed conflict. Both parties to the
conflict have been accused of committing several human rights abuses in this
province and the rest of the country, including the capital Khartoum.
The
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of
OMCT and the FIDH, has received new information on the following situation in
Sudan and requests your urgent intervention.
The
Observatory has been informed by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ),
that Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman, a member of the Sudan Organization Against
Torture’s (SOAT) lawyers network, is in incommunicado detention.
According
to the information received, Mr. Osman is being held in incommunicado detention
since the day of his arrest on February 1, 2004, without being charged with
criminal offence or being brought before an independent and impartial tribunal.
He was reportedly transferred on February 3, 2004, from the National Security
Agency (NSA) to an undisclosed location in Khartoum.
The
Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers of the ICJ called on the
Sudanese authorities to put an end to the incommunicado detention of Mr. Salih
Mahmoud Osman, a human rights rights lawyer, and to either charge him with an
offence or immediately release him.
The
Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers of the ICJ called on the
Sudanese Government to either bring charges or release a human rights lawyer
currently held in incommunicado detention and to allow him to communicate with
his family and to receive legal representation.
The
Observatory is deeply concerned with Mr.Osman’s situation. Although the grounds
for this arbitrary detention remain unknown, there is reason to believe that
his arrest and detention are connected to his legal activities in the Darfur
region. The Observatory urges the Sudanese authorities to guarantee Mr. Osman’s
physical and psychological integrity and to order his immediate release in the
absence of legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an
impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all
times.
Background
information:
Mr.
Salih Mahmoud Osman, a member of the Sudan Organization Against Torture’s
(SOAT) lawyers network, was arrested by members of the National Security Agency
(NSA), on February 1, 2004, at 11:00 pm at his home in Wad-Madani, capital of
the Central Region in Sudan. According to SOAT, he was being held at the
National Security Agency offices in Wad Madani where he was reportedly being
interrogated.
At
the time of his arrest, Mr. Osman was suffering from jaundice. Because of Mr.
Osman’s poor health, his wife was allowed to bring him food. However, she was
reportedly denied the right to visit him.
Mr.
Osman is a well known lawyer and writer. Over the past year, he has provided
free legal aid to hundreds of victims of human rights abuses in Darfur and has
also provided legal representation to those facing capital or severe punishment
(amputation and cross amputation).
Action requested:
Please
write to the authorities of Sudan urging them to:
i.
immediately take all necessary measures to guarantee Mr. Salih Mahmoud Osman’s
physical and psychological integrity;
ii.
order his immediate release in the absence of legal charges, or, if such
charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and
guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iii.
order an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events,
identify those responsible, bring them before a civil, competent and impartial
tribunal and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iv.
conform to the provisions of the Declaration on Humans Rights Defenders,
adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in
particular article 1, which states that "everyone has the right,
individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and
realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and
international levels"; article 12.2 which provides that "the State
shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent
authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against
any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto o de jure adverse discrimination,
pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her
legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present
Declaration.";
v.
ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses:
·
His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the
Republic of Sudan, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Telex: 22385
PEPLC SD or 22411 KAID SD, fax : + 24911 783223
·
Mr Ali Osman Yasin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of
Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Telex:22459 KHRJA SD or 22461 KHRJA SD (via Ministry
of Foreign Affairs), fax : + 24911 788941
·
Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, fax : + 24911 779383
·
His Excellency Ambassador Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent Mission of Sudan
to the United Nations in Geneva, Case Postal 335, 1211 Geneva 19, fax : 0041
(0) 22 731 26 56, email: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int.
Given
the lack of working fax numbers for the government officials above, please send
the appeals by standard mail and also write to the Embassy of Sudan in your
country.
Paris
- Geneva, March 5, 2004
Kindly
inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your
reply.
To
contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail:
observatoire@iprolink.ch
Tel
and fax FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 01 43 55 18 80
Tel
and fax OMCT + 4122 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29
Independence of Judges & Lawyers - Newsroom
4th March 2004
&
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
SDN 002/0104/OBS 009.1
March 5, 2004
|
|
