Five Sudanese lawyers who have been
arbitrarily arrested and detained must be either charged or released, exclaimed
the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers of the ICJ.
Baroud Sandal Ragab, Ismail Oman,
Mohamed Haroun, Mohamed Sharief Ali and Abdalla Aldoma were detained on 19
March in Khartoum. The lawyers are reportedly being held in a special section
of Kober prison, do not have legal representation and are not allowed to
communicate with their families.
The grounds for the arrests remain
unknown, but there is reason to believe that they are linked to the lawyers'
political affiliations. Mr. Abdala is a prominent member of the opposition Umma
party. He presided over a delegation of that party to the National Committee
for the Development and Restoration of Social Infrastructure in Darfur. It is
believed that his arrest is linked to the delegation's withdrawal from that
Committee. The other four lawyers are members of the Popular Congress, another
opposition party. Their arrest is allegedly related to their participation in a
number of demonstrations with displaced persons from Darfur denouncing their
lack of shelter and food.
"Unless the Sudanese
authorities charge these lawyers with a recognisable criminal offence and bring
them before an independent and impartial tribunal, they must be immediately
released" said Linda Besharaty-Movaed, ICJ/CIJL Legal Advisor. "The
grounds for their detention must be urgently made public, and they must be
allowed to communicate with their lawyers".
The ICJ/CIJL urges the Sudanese authorities
to respect its international obligations under the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, in particular article 9, which states that,
"everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be
subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his
liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are
established by law".
The ICJ/CIJL has expressed its deep
concern at the deterioration of the human rights situation in Sudan, particularly
in Darfur, the site of an ongoing internal armed conflict. Both parties to the
conflict have been accused of committing human rights abuses in this province
and in the rest of the country, including the capital Khartoum.
For further information, please
contact José Zeitune, Lawyer, at +41 22 979 3812
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