Sudan: Female lawyer detained, risks torture!
Sudanese lawyer Asma Ahmed, a human rights activist, has been detained incommunicado by the National Security Services since 4 May. She has not been charged with any offence, and is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Agents of the National Security Services (NSS) visited Asma Ahmed's family house in the capital, Khartoum, early on 2 May while she was away. They returned later that day, asking where she was and demanding that she report to their offices as soon as possible. Asma Ahmed went to the NSS office in Khartoum North on 4 May, and has been detained incommunicado since then. She is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Asma Ahmed, aged 39, is a lawyer and a member of the banned opposition party Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N). She is a human rights defender, having defended political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in court, notably the high-profile woman human rights defender, Jalila Khamis Koko, in 2012. She suffers from diabetes and requires a special diet as well as regular medication.
Please write immediately in English, Arabic or your own language:
- Calling on the authorities to charge Asma Ahmed with a recognizably criminal offence or release her without delay;
- Urging them to ensure that Asma Ahmed is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated;
- Calling on them to provide her with immediate access to any medical attention she may require, a lawyer of her own choosing, and her family.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 22 JUNE 2013 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
Minister of Justice
Mohamed Bushara Dousa
Ministry of Justice,
PO Box 302
Al Nil Avenue
Khartoum, Sudan
Email: moj@moj.gov.sd
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Minister of Interior
Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed
Ministry of Interior
PO Box 873
Khartoum,
Sudan
Salutation: Your Excellency
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
NameAddress 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax number Email address Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
Additional Information
The Sudanese states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile have since 2011 been the setting of an internal armed conflict between the government and the armed opposition group Sudan People’s Liberation Army – North (SPLA-N). After the conflict began, the authorities banned the SPLM-N, the political wing of the SPLA-N, and have since detained dozens of real or suspected members of the party. Most have been detained incommunicado and without charge. In the past week, the authorities are reported to have carried out a new wave of arrests of real or suspected members the SPLM-N.
Amnesty International has documented many cases of torture and other ill-treatment by the NSS in recent years, including kicking; beating with sticks, rubber hoses and fists; making detainees stand in scorching heat for days at a time; deprivation of food, water and sleep, and forcing detainees to adopt stress positions. Female detainees in recent years have been subjected to sexual violence, including rape.
