Press Release

AUGUST 17, 2005

Unlawful detention of a Leading Member of the Constitutional Committee

The Sudan Security Department should be re-established for peace

SHRO–Cairo received reliable information that Advocate Magdi Saleem Abd-Allah, Member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Central Committee, Member of the Sudan Committee on the Interim Constitution, was arbitrarily arrested by the State Security Department (SSD) on July 31st, 2005. Mr. Abd-Allah was interrogated and also detained in Khartoum, Medani, and Hasahisa security centers for two weeks without charge. He was released from jail on August 12th.

The SSD “accused” Mr. Abd-Allah of “encouraging students of the Gezira University to form a Students’ Union since their previous union had been suspended by security orders,” Mr Abd-Allah was told in interrogation.

Mr. Abd-Allah was arrested following many demonstrations in the university campus asking for union elections.

“The Gezira students have been calling on the university administration to allow them to re-establish the union to support the peace process in the transition period in addition to the other important union activities,” many students and other citizens told the Organization.

SHRO-Cairo condemns the SSD for the unlawful arrest and detention of Advocate Magdi Saleem Abd-Allah, Member of the Constitution Committee.

We ask the Gezira University to allow students to form their Student’s Government (union) by democratic election.

The State Security Department should not intrude in students’ activities in university campus.

The Organization reiterates continuous appeals by civil society groups to the Sudanese Government to end the extra-police extra-judicial powers of the SSD, which clearly acts against the process of peace, and is seriously destroying the potentialities of peace in universities and other important institutions of the State, as well as peace activities by civil society groups.

The Organization asks the Transition Government to act favorably to support the ongoing popular endeavors for peace:-

The Sudan Security Department must be promptly abolished since it has been originally established to carry out an anti-peace anti-democratic mission of war policies.

A new democratically-based Security Department should be clearly mandated by a New Act to only collect national security information and other issues of relevancy, without any powers of arrest or detention or harassment of civil society activities

The security personnel thus far responsible for unlawful arrests, detentions, or tortures should be firmly accountable before an Independent Court for all abuses of authority.

The victims of unlawful arrests, detention, or other tortures should be fairly compensated by law.

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