Press Release

ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND UNLAWFUL DETENTION:
THE SUDAN GOVERNMENT MUST IMMEDIATELY RELEASE ALL POLITICAL DETAINEES

SEPTEMBER 9, 2004

The Sudan Human Rights Organization Cairo Office is gravely concerned for the arrests of tens political activists and a number of military personnel by the security forces in Khartoum, yesterday morning (Wednesday: September 8). Still, activists of the al-Mutamar al-Sha’abi (the Peoples’ Congress Party) are continuously placed under tight surveillance.

Security officials affirmed that the arrests included 33 activists. Other sources indicated that the number exceeded that figure. The Organization was able to know the names of the detainees Badradeen Taha, Bashir Adam Rahama, engineer Adam al-Tahir Hamdoun, engineer Omar Abd al-Ma’rouf, Siddig al-Ihaimir, Ibrahim Abd al-Hafiz, Dr. Awad Siddiq, al-Safi Nuradeen.

Mohamed Adaroab, al-Nagi Abd-Allah, al-Tigani Saneen, Mustafa Madani, Hassan Khalifa, Tariq Mahgoub, Osman Abd-Allah, Ahmed al-Shain al-Ghali, Abd al-Monim Ali Bashir, Abubakr Abd al-Raziq, and Ismail al-Azhari.

The authorities accused the detainees of a conspiracy to overthrow the ruling regime, for which the Mutamar had been previously charged at least five times since it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the SPLM in the year 2001 without evidence or judicial proceedings to put the accused persons on trial. Since that date, many of the party activists were never released from jail. The party leader, Dr. Hassan al-Turabi (74), has been detained since March without charge.

The Organization was informed with the fact that extremist elements in the ruling regime most likely pursued the Mutamar’s arrests and detention campaign to stop ongoing efforts by moderate groups within the NIF ruling party and some other external groups to reconcile the disputes of the two factions. The Organization also notes a press statement by the State Security Deputy Director stating that most of the detainees were not aware of the claimed conspiracy; but the arrests were enforced for security precaution.
SHRO-Cairo asks the government to stop the arbitrary arrests or the detention of citizens.

The Sudan Government must immediately release all detainees as well as the other political prisoners.
In the meantime, the government must ensure the rights of the detainees and all political prisoners to visitation and the other legal rights.