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+ Contact:   rmitchellai@gn.apc.org (UK)               +
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EXTERNAL (for general distribution)  AI Index: AFR 54/10/95
                                     Distr: UA/SC       
                                     3 March 1995
 
Further information on UA 53/95 (AFR 54/09/95, 28 February 1995) 
- Death threats/Torture/Fear of Torture and new concern: Fear of
"disappearance"
 
SUDAN       Widad Hassan Ali Karrar (f)
            Samira Hassan Ali Karrar (f) 
            Alia Hassan Ali Karrar (f)
            Mahasin (family name unknown), wife of Bashir El Tayid
            Souad Abdelrahim (f)
            Awadis Mirgani (f) 
            
            and 22 other members of the families of 28 army officers
            executed on 24 April 1990 after an unfair trial       
 
            new name:   Kamal Abualgasim
     
Amnesty International fears that Kamal Abualgasim, arrested for
taking part in the annual family commemoration of the execution of
28 army officers in 1990, faces torture in incommunicado detention
and is at risk of "disappearance". 
 
Kamal Abualgasim was present at the memorial service for the
executed officers held at the home of a relative on 27 February
1995, which was disrupted by security forces and after which Samira
Hassan Ali Karrar and Alia Hassan Ali Karrar were harassed by
members of the security forces (see UA 53/95).  On the morning of
28 February, Kamal Abualgasim visited the home of the family of
Bashir Mustafa, another of the executed officers. When he left the
house, witnesses reportedly saw him arrested and driven away by
security force officers.  Since then his family have not heard from
him and there has been no information on any charges brought against
him. 
 
Amnesty International fears that Kamal Abualgasim may be detained
in one of the security force's unofficial "ghost houses", notorious
for torture and long-term incommunicado detention.
 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
 
Kamal Abualgasim has been detained in the "ghost houses" and
tortured numerous times by Sudanese security forces. He is a
political activist and outspoken critic of the government, and the
security forces believe he prompts the female relatives of the
executed officers in their demonstrations and political activities.
These relatives believe that detaining and torturing Kamal
Abualgasim is a technique used by the security forces deliberately
to threaten their families, as he is routinely among the first to
be detained after their demonstrations or meetings, even when he has
not participated himself. For instance, he has been detained and
tortured every year after the women's commemorative demonstrations
like the one held last weekend, after which several women were
detained and tortured (see UA 53/95).
 
PLEASE CONTINUE ACTION AS RECOMMENDED IN ORIGINAL UA AND IN
ADDITION, FURTHER RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send
telegrams/telexes/faxes/express and airmail letters: 
 
- expressing concern that Kamal Abualgasim was witnessed being taken
into security force custody on 28 February 1995, and that his family
have not heard from him since; 
 
- seeking assurances that he is being treated humanely in accordance
with international standards; 
 
- calling on the Sudanese authorities to make the whereabouts of
Kamal Abualgasim public and to release him immediately if he is not
to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence.
 
APPEALS TO:
 
His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir 
 
President of the Republic of the Sudan
[Salutation: Your Excellency]
People's Palace
PO Box 281
Khartoum, Sudan
Telegrams:        Lt Gen Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Khartoum, Sudan
Telexes:          22385 PEPLC SD or 22411 KAID SD
 
Dr al-Tayib Ibrahim Muhammad Kheir
 
Minister of the Interior
[Salutation: Dear Minister ]
People's Palace
PO Box 281
Khartoum, Sudan
Telegrams:        Dr al-Tayib Ibrahim Muhammad Kheir, Khartoum, Sudan 
Telexes:          22842 WZARA SD or 22604 IPOL SD
 
PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO: Embassy of Sudan, 3 Cleveland
Row, St James's, London SW1A 1DD. Fax: 071 839 6919
 
[Please see the responses to this topic for the addresses
of diplomatic representatives in other countries]
 
AND, IF POSSIBLE, TO THE FOLLOWING:
 
Dr A. al-Mufti, Secretary of Human Rights Commission*, Khartoum,
Sudan 
 
(* The Human Rights Commission is a government-backed body,
nominally independent, but apparently created to counter what the
government perceives as hostile human rights propaganda.) 
 
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.  Please do not send appeals after
20 April 1995.
 
 
 
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
+ If you have any queries about this Urgent Action or about +
+ the UA scheme in general, please contact:                 +
+   Ray Mitchell                                            +
+   Amnesty International British Section                   +
+   99 - 119 Rosebery Avenue                                +
+   London EC1R 4RE      email: rmitchellai@gn.apc.org      +
+-----------------------------------------------------------+