Case SDN 261107/ Case SDN 261107.CC
URGENT CAMPAIGNS/ CHILD CONCERN
Death penalty/ Allegations of torture
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sudan.
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the SOS-Torture network, about the death sentences handed down to ten individuals, including a 16-year-old boy, by the Khartoum Criminal Court on 10 November 2007 in connection with the murder of journalist Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed. According to the defence lawyer in the case, Mr. Kamal Omer, the ruling was based on confessions extrated under torture.
The names of those sentenced to death are as follow:
According to the information received, lawyer Kamal Omer said the defence submitted evidence to the court that his clients had been tortured but that this did not elicit a result. He reportedly also said that he sought to submit three petitions to allow steps to be taken to sue the persons alleged to have tortured his clients, but that the court had also not responded to these petitions by the time the judgement was announced. He is reportedly currently preparing to appeal the judgement.
According to the same information, the ten individuals were among dozens of Darfuris, including women and children, who were detained after the discovery on 6 September 2006 of the beheaded body of Mr. Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed, the publisher and editor of al-Wifaq newspaper who had reportedly angered Islamists by questioning the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad and had also reportedly criticised Darfuri armed movements and questioned the stories of sexual violence against Darfuri women. Nearly all of the 73 people detained in connection with the case were allegedly tortured in custody by members of the police, intelligence and security services. Most were eventually reportedly released. Only nine who faced trial were acquitted on the grounds that the case against them was based on confessions extracted under duress. While the International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the acquittal of these nine individuals and that the court applied international rules, which state that any statement which is established to have been made as result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, it remains very much concerned about the sentences of the remaining ten above mentioned individuals.
Indeed, the International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its grave concern about the inhuman consequences of the judgement. OMCT is particularly concerned that the sentences are allegedly based on confessions extracted under torture. OMCT recalls that Sudan is a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In line with their obligations under this treaty, it is incumbent on the Sudanese authorities to consider seriously any allegations of torture and ill-treatment made by the victim, and to undertake a thorough investigation in this regard. Furthermore, OMCT strongly supports the principles enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) ratified by Sudan, and in particular article 37 which forbids the imposition of "capital punishment (...) for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age (...)".
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.
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Geneva, 26 November 2007
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
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