Attempt to arrest arbitrarily Mr. Hassan Eltaib Yassin

May 16, 2008

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Sudan.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) of the attempt to arrest arbitrarily Mr. Hassan Eltaib Yassin, a human rights defender in Port Sudan (Red Sea State).

According to the information received, on May 13, 2008, members of the National Security and Intelligence Service (NISS) visited twice the house of Mr. Hassan Eltaib Yassin, first at 8 pm and a second time at 10 pm, allegedly to arrest him. On both occasions, they failed to find him. It is feared that this attempt of security agents to arrest Mr. Yassin might be due to his efforts to assist students who were detained by the NISS after clashes that occurred between students at the al-Bahr al-Ahmar University, in Port Sudan[1].

Indeed, on 11 May 2008, one of these students, Mr. Faries Abd Alhay Mohmed Ali, was detained and then allegedly subjected to abuse and ill-treatments by NISS members.

The Observatory expresses its deep concern with the continuing interference on the activities of human rights defenders by the Sudanese authorities, and especially with Mr. Yassin’s physical and psychological integrity and security, and fears that such acts of intimidation directly aim at weakening the Sudanese independent civil society.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Sudan, urging them to:

1. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Hassan Eltaib Yassin;
2. Put an end to any act of harassment against him as well as against all Sudanese human rights defenders;
3. Comply with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
4. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Sudan.

Addresses

• H.E. President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, Office of the President, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan
• H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, First Vice-President, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan,
• H.E. Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, Vice-President, People’s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan
• Mr. Abdel Bassit Sabdarat, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan
• Mr. Deng Alor, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs/External Relations, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan
• Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Hamed, Minister of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Interior, PO Box 873,
• Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 183 779383
• Dr Abdelmuneim Osman Mohamed Taha, Advisory Council for Human Rights, Rapporteur, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: +249 183 77 08 83
• Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 47, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Tel: +41 22 731 26 63, Fax: +41 22 731 26 56, Email: mission.sudan@bluewin.ch / mission.sudan@ties.itu.int
• The Embassy of Sudan in Brussels, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 124, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Tel.:0032 (2) 647 51 59 / 0032 (2) 647 94 94, Fax: 0032 (2) 648 34 99, Email: sudanbx@yahoo.com

Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Sudan in your respective country.

Geneva - Paris, May 16, 2008

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

[1] For more information, see OMCT Urgent Appeal SDN 160508, issued on May 16, 2008.