Sudan: Arrest of three journalists 


 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit

The Human Rights Actions Network - Derechos Human Rights
http://www.derechos.org/human-rights/actions/

                          Case SDN 200499

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT 
intervention in the following situation in Sudan.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secreetariat of OMCT has just been informed of the 
arrest of three journalists, Mr. Mohamed Abd Alseed, Mr. Mutasim 
Mahmoud and Ms. Maha Hassan Ali, in Sudan.

According to the Sudanese Victims of Torture Group (SVTG), a member 
of the OMCT network, on April 14 1999, at 8.45 p.m.,  Mr. Mohamed Abd 
Alseed, aged 53, was reportedly arrested by five security officers at his 
home in Al Kalakla, a town in the District of Khartoum.  He is the 
corespondent of Alsharaq Alawsat, a London Based Arabic daily 
newspaper.   It has been reported that Mr Alseed needs regular medicine 
for a medical condition.  His wife, being unable to ascertain his 
whereabouts, has been unable to supply the needed medicine. 

On April 17 1999, Mr. Mutasim Mahmoud,  chief editor of the Political 
Section of Al Ray Alaam, the daily paper in Khartoum, was arrested and 
his whereabouts remain unknown.

On April 18 1999, Ms Maha Hassan was arrested at her home in Al 
Kalakla, a town in the District of Khartoum, and up to April  19 1998, her 
whereabouts  remained unknown. She is a journalist who works at the 
national News Section in the Sudan News Agency (SUNA). 

According to the reports, a few days before the arrests, pro-government 
papers undertook a wide hostile campaign against journalists. They 
claimed  that  in Sudan, there is a network of journalists working as 
agents of a foreign country.

Torture and ill treatment of detainees are systematic in Sudanese 
Security detention facilities and given the circumstances of the detention 
of the three persons mentioned above, the International Secretariat of 
OMCT shares the concerns of  SVTG for their safety and integrity.

Action requested

Write to the Sudanese authorities urging them to:

i.  immediately establish the whereabouts of Mr. Mohamed Abd 
    Alseed, Mr. Mutasim Mahmoud and Ms. Maha Hassan Ali and 
    guarantee their physical and psychological integrity;

  ii. order their immediate release if they are held in detention 
    without  valid charges or, in the event that they have been 
    charged, ensure their right to a fair and impartial trial, their 
    procedural rights and their right to legal counsel at all times;

  iii.take all necessary measures to guarantee the right to hold 
    opinions and the right to freedom of expression;

  iv. guarantee all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and 
    conform their actions to the international standards established 
    in the international covenants ratified by Sudan, particularly the 
    International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as 
    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 : (+249 11) 71 7 24

Mr. Abd al-Basit Sabdarat, 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 : (+249 11) 740 63

Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan.  Telex : 22459 KHRJA SD 
or 22461 KHRJA SD - Fax : (+249 11) 740 63

The Diplomatic Representatives of Sudan in your country.

Geneva, 20 April 1999
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this 
appeal in your reply.

Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Organizacisn Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
37-39 Rue de Vermont
Case postale 119
CH-1211 Geneve 20 CIC
Suisse/Switzerland
Tel. : 0041 22 733 31 40
Fax : 0041 22 733 10 51
E-mail : omct@omct.org

 
=================================================================
  NY Transfer News Collective   *   A Service of Blythe Systems 
           Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us          
              339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012             
  http://www.blythe.org                  e-mail: nyt@blythe.org 
=================================================================
 
nytaf-04.24.99-12:13:52-3780