39 DARFURIS CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH MAY 10 ATTACKS ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000918 DEPT FOR AF/SPG, DRL ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KPKO AU UN SU CD SUBJECT: 39 DARFURIS CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH MAY 10 ATTACKS ON OMDURMAN REF: A. KHARTOUM 866 ¶B. KHARTOUM 881 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Sudanese authorities formally charged 39 detainees in connection with the May 10 JEM attacks on the capital, although many more Darfuris remain in custody or are unaccounted-for. Khartoum-based Darfuri civil society groups have received significant moral support from political parties, such as the SPLM and SLM-Minnawi, with prominent figures denouncing the arrests in public at recent public rallies (notably, without interference from the GOS). Additional documentation of arrests and torture has emerged as family members of a Darfuri detainee recently stepped forward to speak with embassy officers. End summary. -------------- LAWYERS STRUGGLE TO ACCESS 39 CHARGED SO FAR -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In the weeks following the May 10 attacks by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM),Sudanese authorities arrested hundreds of Darfuris resident in Khartoum in sweeps across the capital, and on June 18 authorities initiated legal proceedings against a fraction of the unknown detainees. Authorities formally charged 39 Sudanese citizens on counts of murder, terrorism, and constitutional violations in three separate courts in the capital. The independent Khartoum Center for Human Rights criticized the process as highly flawed and in violation of the Sudanese Constitution, with cases transferred from the police to the prosecutor without releasing any details of the charges. Lawyers rushed to courts in Khartoum, Khartoum North (Bahri) and Omdurman to file petitions to represent the 39 unnamed detainees, not knowing whom they would be representing. ¶3. (SBU) Lawyers from the independent Darfur Bar Association spoke with POLOFF on June 18 and recounted violations of due process and human rights. Although lawyers at the courts in Omdurman and Bahri spoke with their detainees in limited interviews, lawyers who arrived at the appointed time at the court in Khartoum found themselves barred from the courtroom, as the proceedings had commenced one hour earlier (something they described as a "tactical maneuver.") One lawyer at the court in Omdurman was granted 15 minutes to interview 13 defendants; he described them as illiterate, bewildered Darfuris in need of medical care and proper clothing. Another lawyer at the proceedings in Bahri echoed his conclusions, and added that 4 of these 13 defendants are under the age of 18, likely between 14 and 16 years old. One had been clearly tortured; as he was unable to stand, two policemen carried him into the crowded interview room. Shackled at the wrists and ankles, the defendants had enough time to identify themselves and their tribes, but did not detail their arrest or treatment before the allotted 15 minutes ran out. -------------- OPPOSITION RALLIES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) At an open-air rally at Umma Party headquarters in Omdurman in the evening of June 18th, speakers from several Sudanese political parties derided the recent arrests. Human rights advocates, university professors and opposition leaders called for the end to the arrests, the release of the detainees, the end of NCP rule, and the birth of a peaceful Sudan. Yasir Arman, Deputy SG of the SPLM for the Northern Sector, cited Northern Ireland as an example of a region that managed to transfer quickly from war to peace. Interrupted by a woman who shouted, "SPLM, you are the cause of this now," Arman allowed the woman to continue until she exhausted herself, and then wryly added, "Now this is freedom of expression . . . but please, don't count that from my time." ¶5. (SBU) Noted Sudanese human rights advocate Salih Mahmoud Osman spoke with POLOFF at the rally, expressing delight at signs of Sudanese solidarity. Winner of the International Human Rights Award from the American Bar Association in 2006, Osman described the campaign against the arrests as consistent with recent efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to press for legal accountability for human rights violations in Sudan. "We are now seeing both an internal campaign and an external campaign, which is necessary but not sufficient." He described the international community as supportive of his efforts, but worried, "the European Union is preparing to compromise justice for political negotiations." He added, "The international community needs to send a strong message to the Government of Sudan that without cooperation with the ICC, the international community will take measures and act." -------------- -------------- KHARTOUM 00000918 002 OF 002 ONE OUTSPOKE ACTIVIST TURNS HIMSELF IN AND DISAPPEARS -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Neimat Widaa, brother of jailed Darfuri activist Abdelillah Widaa, spoke with POLOFF June 19 regarding her brother's detention. Resident in Khartoum, Abdelillah Widaa is a successful 39 year-old electrical engineer, a fervent supporter of human rights, and a founding member of the influential Darfur Forum for Dialogue and Peaceful Intervention. Prior to the May 10 attacks, officers from the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) visited Widaa at his job, leaned on his general manager to fire him, and, according to his sister, told him, "We can eliminate you completely." On May 14th, when Widaa was not at home, two NISS vehicles arrived at his Omdurman home to arrest him, staying until 4 a.m. Neighbors passed him word that NISS officers had arrived at his house, and he immediately went into hiding. NISS officers returned three more times, each time beating family members and neighbors, and threatening them with arrest and execution. Later NISS officers arrested his brother and uncle, subjected them to beatings, and sent word out that they would be held until Abdelillah gave himself up. ¶7. (SBU) After eluding authorities for nineteen days, Widaa contacted Darfuri tribal leaders and arranged his surrender to NISS. According to his sister, word of the arrests had reached Widaa, and, certain his uncle and brother were being tortured, he chose to turn himself in to guarantee their release. On June 3rd, his tribal chief and six witnesses accompanied Widaa as he returned to the capital to face arrest. Widaa's relatives have received no word of his condition since his arrest, and they call daily in vain to NISS headquarters. Concerned for her brother's pregnant wife and one-year old daughter, the activist's sister wept throughout the meeting, saying she was certain her brother has been subjected to torture, mindful that NISS officers had previously threatened to "eliminate" him. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: The 39 Darfuris charged this week with participation in the JEM attacks pale in comparison to the number still behind bars. However, it is a positive development that the Sudanese regime has finally begun charging and processing some of the detainees, rather than keeping them indefinitely behind bars without due process. Reports from human rights watchdogs indicate that as many as 200 people either disappeared or were detained following the May 10 JEM attack on the capital, but the full scale of the arrests and the fate of the detainees remain unknown. Post will continue to monitor the situation, press the Sudanese regime publicly and privately and discuss with the UN and other organization the extent to which the arrests and indeterminate detentions violate international human rights law, as well as the Sudanese Interim National Constitution. Embassy Khartoum's June 18 press release expressing concerns about the legal process involving these detainees led to a response by the GOS rejecting our concerns. Statements are good but they are not enough. FERNANDEZ