Case SDN 190308
Enforced disappearance/ Risk of deportation/ Fear of torture and ill-treatment
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 OMCT SOS-Torture network, about the disappearance of four Ethiopian refugees whose whereabouts are unknown following their arrests in Khartoum earlier this month (please see exact dates below). All are reported to be at risk of persecution and torture if forcibly repatriated because of their past opposition to the Ethiopian regime.
The four individuals are:
According to the information received, Mr. Wendimagenghu Getanehe and Mr. Dereje Ayele Mekonen were seized on the premises of the Commission for Refugees, part of the Interior Ministry. Mrs. Almaz Matko Kubdy and Mr. Qenano Mangesti Tamani were reportedly arrested late at night in the al-Deam area of Khartoum. Mrs. Almaz Matko Kubdy is understood to have been in very poor health at the time of her arrest. Without knowing where the four individuals are being held, family members and lawyers have been unable to seek access to visit them.
According to the same information received, Mr. Wendimagenghu Getanehe is an active member of the Ethiopian community in Sudan and has represented fellow refugees before the authorities and United Nations agencies. Mrs. Almaz Matko Kubdy was previously detained for two years in Sudan after being convicted of taking part in political activism there against the Ethiopian regime, including buying military clothing with the intention of sending it to armed groups across the border. Sources insist the allegations were false. Mr. Qenano Mangesti Tamani has also been reportedly arrested twice before in Sudan for alleged political activities.
The authorities are also reportedly understood to be searching for a 48-year-old Ethiopian refugee named Abrai Atlay.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Wendimagenghu Getanehe, Mr. Dereje Ayele Mekonen, Mrs. Almaz Matko Kubdy and Mr. Qenano Mangesti Tamani as their whereabouts remain unknown, giving rise to fears that they may be subjected to ill-treatment, torture and/or forcible deportation. OMCT has already reported on cases of Ethiopians detained in Sudan and at risk of persecution and torture if deported (see cases SDN 140108, 140108.1, 140108.2 and SDN 110208). OMCT calls on the Sudanese Government to guarantee their integrity at all times. Further, as a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the African Union (AU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, Sudan is obliged not to forcibly return any individual to a country where he or she could face torture or other serious human rights violations.
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.
Geneva, 19 March 2008
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
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