Sudan: Arbitrary Arrest and Beatings of 37 women

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
SDN 031297

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

Brief description of the situation:

The International Secretariat has been informed by reliable sources of
the alleged arrests and beatings of 37 women by the Sudanese police in
Kartoum on 1 December 1997. 

According to information received, on the morning of 1 December, in
Khartoum, the Sudanese Women Association and the Mothers of the
Sudanese students Union organised a march to the UN headquarters in
Khartoum, protesting against the forcible conscription of the students
to the operation fields and to dispatch a memorandum to the UN
representative. When the silent march reached the United Nations
headquarters,  the UN representative (Mr Cristopher Jaeger-from
Germany) refused to meet them or to receive the memorandum and called
instead the police informing them that there was a women's gathering
in front of his office.

The police then apparently arrived and began to beat and arrest the
women. The arrested women have been  brought before a summary court
and the judge, Mohamed Sir elkhatim Gharabawi, has sentenced them to
10 lashes and 25 thousand Sudanese pound fine. 

The arrested women are: Souad Ibrahiem Ahmed (67 years old) University
lecturer; Sarah Nugdallah (50 years old) University lecturer; Nemat
Ahmed Mamlik ( 60 years old ) nurse; Sarah Hamd Elneil (who is
cuurently in a very critical situation and suffering from internal
bleeding); Kosar Hassan Mohamed; Zahra Mohamed Ahmed Fadiel; Amani
Ahmed Osman; Wedad Mohamed; Asma Elsayid Ali; Samya Ahmed Osman; Omyma
 Ahmed Mustafa (lawyer); Salwa Saeed (lawyer); Zienab Ali Alomda
Abdelmajid (lawyer); ElKhansaa Omer Sureldahab; Seham Adam; Samera
Osman; Huda Ahmed Abdalla; Setena Mohamed Salih; Sara Gesm Elsyeed;
Ibtehag Ibrahiem; Entesar Siddig; Aml Osman; Sakena Abdalla Kambal;
Neglla Ahmed Musa; Hayat Mahmoud; Lelyan Mohamed Salih Hussien (German
and who has received 40 lashes because she was wearing trousers);
Fawzia Ahmed ElFadil; Eyman Mohamed ElHassan; Bakheta Ahmed ElSheikh;
Rana Mohamed Ahmed; Had ElRayid ElMahi; Fatima Kamel Mlhamed Kheir;
Nagala Saad Ahmed ElShiekh; SameraTalib Ismael (her arm has been
broken); Eyman Abdelrahiem.

According to the information received, the judge has furthermore
sentenced Mr.Mustafa Abdelghadir, one of the defenders of the women,
to 500 thousand fine or six month imprisonment for exciting the court
and he has as well expelled Mr. Hashim Awad Abdelmajeed, another
defender, from the courtroom for the same reason. At the end of the
trial the people outside the court gathered the request fine and paid
it immediately to the court, but the judge refused to accept the fine
of Mr. Mustafa and insisted on his spending his night in prison.

Action requested:

Please write to the Sudanese authorities urging them to:

i.	guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all the
above-mentioned women and their defenders;

ii	order their immediate release in the absence of valid charges and
assure that their sentences as well as the sentences of their defender
will not be carried out;

iii.	take all necessary measures to bring an end to the practice of
corporal punishment;

iv.	guarantee an impartial and exhaustive enquiry into these facts,
identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and
impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative
sanctions provided by law;

v.	ensure in all circumstances the full respect of human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with national and international
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 71 724

Brigadier Bakri Hassan Salih, Minister of Interior, People's Palace,
PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan. Telex : 22842 WZARA SD or 22604 IPOL SD -
Fax : +249 11 71724 / 76554 / 77900 / 73046 / 70186

Mr. Abdel Basset Sabdrat, 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 74 063

Mr. Ali Osman Mohamad Taha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan.  Telex : 22459 KHRJA SD
or 22461 KHRJA SD - Fax : +249 11 74 063

Chief Justice, Khartoum Sudan. Telegram : Honorable Chief Justice,
Khartoum, Sudan

Geneva, 3 December 1997

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.