URGENT ACTION: STUDENT ACTIVIST DETAINED, RISKS TORTURE

July 18, 2012

Sudanese student activist Mohammed Salah Mohammed was arrested by men in plain clothes on 24 June in the capital, Khartoum, a few days after he joined peaceful protests. He is being held without charge and is at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

Mohammed Salah Mohammed, aged 23, was eating dinner with two friends in the al-Riyadh neighbourhood of Khartoum when about 20 plainclothes security agents came in, beat them up and arrested them. His friends have since been released, but Mohammed Salah Mohammed is still detained. He has not been charged and has not had access to a lawyer. He is at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

His family were able to visit him on 14 July in the section of Kober prison run by the National Security Services (NSS). They have said he was shaking, and showed them a bruise on his forehead. Mohammed Salah Mohammed is in particular danger because he suffers from chronic kidney disease and requires medical attention.

Mohammed Salah Mohammed is a student at the University of Khartoum’s Faculty of Sciences. He is the spokesperson of the Student Democratic Front at the university and the President of the Nubians’ regional student association (a group of minority students from the Nubian region in north Sudan). He took part in peaceful protests against the government in the week before his arrest.

Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:

* Calling on the authorities to release Mohammed Salah Mohammed immediately and unconditionally;

* Urging them to ensure Mohammed Salah Mohammed is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated, and that he has regular access to any medical attention he may require and a lawyer of his choice;

* Demanding that they stop the harassment of peaceful activists and journalists, and honour their commitment to freedom of expression, as enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sudan is a party.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 29 AUGUST 2012 TO:

Minister of Interior
Ibrahim Mohamed Hamed
Ministry of Interior
PO Box 873
Khartoum,
Sudan
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Justice
Mohammed Bushara Dousa
Ministry of Justice,
PO Box 302
Al Nil Avenue
Khartoum
Sudan
Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:
President
HE Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir
Office of the President
People’s Palace
PO Box 281
Khartoum, Sudan
Email: info@sudan.gov.sd
Salutation: Your Excellency

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION: STUDENT ACTIVIST DETAINED, RISKS TORTURE
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Inspired by protests throughout the Middle East and North Africa, Sudan has experienced frequent demonstrations since January 2011, calling for political change and an improvement in socio-economic conditions. In response the Sudanese authorities have frequently harassed, arrested and ill-treated peaceful protestors.

Since the latest demonstrations began, on 16 June 2012, scores of activists, bloggers and journalists have been arrested and detained in an attempt by the authorities to stifle dissent and reporting on the protest movement, in violation of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

The protest movement spread from universities in Khartoum and its neighbouring cities Omdurman and Khartoum North to residential areas of the capital as well as provincial towns, including Atbara, Dongola, El Obeid, and Port Sudan.

Amnesty International has documented numerous cases of torture and other ill-treatment of protesters by the NSS, in particular since the beginning of the recent protest movement in mid-June 2012. NSS agents have beaten detainees, punching them and using hoses, plastic pipes, sticks and metal bars. The NSS also insulted detainees, deprived them of sleep and made them stand or sit for many hours in direct sunlight, in temperatures of more than 40øC.

Name: Mohammed Salah Mohammed
Gender m/f: M

UA: 216/12 Index: AFR 54/033/2012 Issue Date: 18 July 2012

UA: 216/12 Index: AFR 54/033/2012 Sudan