Document - SOUDAN. Détention au secret / Craintes de torture ou de mauvais traitements / Préoccupations d'ordre médical / Prisonniers d'opinion présumés. Nazmi Mohammed Hamed (h) ; Nayef Mohammed Hamed (h), journaliste ; Al Khatib Mohammed Salem (h), ingénieu

PUBLIC AI Index: AFR 54/053/2007

12 September 2007

UA 243/07 Incommunicado detention/fear of torture or other ill-treatment/medical concern/possible prisoners of conscience

SUDAN Nazmi Mohammed Hamed (m)

Nayef Mohammed Hamed (m), journalist

Al-Khatib Mohammed Salem (m), engineer

Maysara Izzeddin Mohammed Mansur (m)

Farouq Nouri (m) government employee at the Ministry of Finance, Dongola

Hisham Abbas (m)

Da’ud Suleima (m) member of the Committee Against the Building of the Kajbar Dam

Isam Mohammed Faqir (m)

The eight men named above were arrested on 28 August, apparently as a result of their opposition to the construction of the Kajbar Dam in Sudan's Northern State. They have been held incommunicado since their arrest, and may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment. One of the detainees may not have access to the medication he needs. Amnesty International believes that the men may be prisoners of conscience, detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

Seven of the eight men are being held incommunicado in a wing of Dongola Prison, under the control of the National Intelligence and Security Forces (NISS). One report suggests that they began a hunger strike in protest at their detention on 11 September. The eighth detainee, Hisham Abbas, is being held at Wadi Halfa, close to Sudan'sborder with Egypt.

Nayef Mohammed Hamed is reported to have collapsed on both 30 August and 10 September because he did not have access to the medication that he requires to manage his diabetes. On both occasions he was moved under guard to a local hospital in Dongola, the capital of theNorthern State, but was brought back to the prison a few days later. Nayef Mohammed Hamed was able to receive visitors while he was at the hospital. It is not known if he now has access to medication

All those detained are active opponents of the construction of the Kajbar Dam. One of the men, Da'ud Suleima, is a member of the Committee Against the Building of the Kajbar Dam, which represents residents from approximately 30 villages who will be affected by the Dam's construction. A second Committee member, Ma’moun Abdel Aziz, is said to be in hiding as he believes that there is a warrant for his arrest.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Kajbar Dam is to be located on the third cataract of the Nile innorth Sudan. Local residents are protesting against the destruction of their villages and the failure of the authorities to hold a proper consultation over the proposed dam construction.

Approximately twelve people were arrested for protesting about the construction of the Kajbar Dam in early June 2007. Most were detained for more than two months before being released without charge (see UA 156/07, AFR 54/032/2007, 19 June 2007, and follow-ups).

Article 31 of the 1999 National Security Forces Act gives the security forces the power to detain people for up to nine months without access to judicial review. All those detained over the protests against the Kajbar Dam are likely to be held under this legislation.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or Arabic or your own language:

- urging the Sudanese authorities to ensure those detained are treated humanely and that they have immediate and regular access to families, lawyers and any medical attention they may require;

- calling for Nayef Mohammed Hamed to have immediate and regularaccess to the medication he requires to manage his diabetes;

- urging the authorities to release the detainees unless they are to be charged promptly with a recognisably criminal offence;

- calling on the authorities to guarantee the right tofreedom of expression and association in line with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

- urging the authorities to repeal Article 31 of the National Security Forces Act, which allows detainees to be held for up to nine months without access to judicial review.

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APPEALS TO:

His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir

President of the Republic of Sudan

Office of the President

People's Palace

PO Box 281

Khartoum, Sudan

Fax: +249 183 782541

Salutation: Your Excellency

Prof. Al-Zubair Bashir Taha

Minister of Internal Affairs

Ministry of Interior, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan

Fax: + 249 183 776554 (Please mark, "FAO Minister of Internal Affairs")

Salutation: Dear Minister

COPIES TO:

Dr Abdel Moneim Osman Taha

Rapporteur, Advisory Council for Human Rights

Khartoum, Sudan

Email: human_rights_sudan@hotmail.com

Human Rights Committee

The Peoples Hall

Omdurman, Sudan

Fax: + 249 187 560950

E-mail: info@sudan-parliament.org

COPIES TO: diplomatic representatives of Sudan accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 24 October 2007

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