Their
story
The International Secretariat of the
World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) gave notice on April 30th
2003 about the sentencing to death of 24 Arab people convicted of
armed robbery by a Special Court of Nyala, South Darfour (Sudan),
after an unfair trial.
These men were reportedly arrested and
charged following an attack on the village of Singita, in the Kas
district of Darfour on December 31st, 2002. The twenty-four men who
have been sentenced to death are: Al Doum Adam Abakar Ali, claimed
to be 75 years old (m); Mohamed Omer Suliman Ahmed, claimed to be 71
years old (m); Ahmed Issa Haroon Abd Al Rahman (m); Suliman Al Doum
Adam (m); Yaqoub Abd Allah Khair Allah (m); Abakr Aina Jaber (m);
Abakr Fadel Mohamed Assil (m); Issa Ahmed Ibrahim Mohamed (m);
Zakaria Ahmed Adam Hamidan (m); Zakaria Ahmed Adam Mohamed (m); Ali
Omer Mohamed Baraka (m); Mousa Hussain Ahmed Azhaq (m); Abu Al
Kassim Omer Adam (m); Al Mahdi Abd Al Jaber Adam (m); Fadel Adam
Hamdan (m); Mohamed Issa Haroon Abd Allah (m); Hamed Ahmed Mousa
(m); Ahmed Rahma Mohamed Asseil (m); Ismail Saleh Al Tahir Mohamed
(m); Al Noor Rahma Mohamed Assil (m); Al Taieb Mohamed Ahmed (m);
Abaker Idris Adam (m); Abd Al Rahim Mohamed Abd Allah and Al Tahir
Ahmed Adam (m). Since April 2002, nineteen men from Darfour have
been executed and at least 133 more are awaiting execution. The
Shari 'a law, under the Sudanese interpretation, establishes in
these cases the death by hanging or death by hanging followed by
crucifixion.
The Special Courts, set up in the
troubled region of Darfour since May 2001, consist of two military
judges and one civil judge.
According to OMCT they often adopt
procedures ignoring the international human rights standards, like
an adequate defence during the trial, a very short time to appeal to
the first degree sentence and a recurrent use of torture.
The
appeal to save them
The
Community of Sant'Egidio invites everybody to share its appeal
aiming to spare 24 people's lives from the execution, sending the
following statement to the competent authorities of Sudan, as it
occurred in the past, by fax or e-mail.
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URGENT
APPEAL BROUGHT IN BY THE COMMUNITY OF SANT'EGIDIO TO SAVE THE LIVES OF 24
PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH
Your
Excellencies
We
are writing to express our deep concern over a ruling that sentenced to
death 24 people after an unfair trial, uncaring of the international human
rights standards.
We
urge you to intervene on their behalf to prevent this cruel and inhuman
punishment from being meted out against them.
We
implore you to ensure that this cruel and inhuman sentence is not carried
out.
Respectfully
Yours
(signature
and date)
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Addresses
-
His
Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President
of the Republic of Sudan, President�s Palace, PO Box 281,
Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911.783223
-
Mr.
Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney
General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax:
+24911.788941
-
Mr.
Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911.779383
-
Mr.
Yasir Sid Ahmed, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302,
Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911.779173
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His
Excellency Ambassador Mr. Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent
Mission of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335,
1211 Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +4122.7312656.
-
E-mail:
[email protected]
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the Community of Sant'Egidio
Abolitions, 