African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies ACJPS | المركز الافريقي لدراسات العدالة و السلام
(29 July 2015) Sudanese authorities should urgently investigate the torture and custodial death of one man and reported torture of two others accused of providing information to the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). Immediate steps should be taken to guarantee the safety of the two men, who face an ongoing risk of torture and have been detained incommunicado without charge in military custody in West Darfur since 17 July.
The three men are thought to have been severely tortured at the Jebel Mun Military base in the Silea area of West Darfur. The body of 32-year-old Abakar Adam Ishag, showing signs of torture, including wounds sustained from a sharp object, was admitted to the Teaching Hospital in El Geneina town, West Darfur on 19 July. Ishag had been detained by the SAF from his home two days earlier, at around midday on 17 July, together with two other men who were taking breakfast with him on the first day of Eid. On 19 July he was taken to the hospital by a Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) from the Jebel Mun base but reportedly died on the way to the hospital.
The three men were detained by the SAF from Abaker Adam Ishag’s home in Karo Karo village, which lies to the east of Jebel Mun, at around midday on 17 July. The SAF officers reportedly arrived at Ishag’s home in three Landcruisers and instructed them to get into the vehicles without providing any arrest warrants.
According to reliable sources, the three men, who are all members of the Misseriya Jabal ethnic group and are farmers who also work at Silea Market during the dry season, were accused of providing information to the JEM. Abakar Adam Ishag was reportedly accused of being a key JEM informant.
Available information suggests that the three men were subjected to torture including severe beatings over two days at the Jebel Mun Military Base. There are also unconfirmed reports that Abaker Adam Ishag was suspended from a tree and beaten with a Kalashnikov rifle during that time. Wounds on his corpse indicated that he had also been stabbed or beaten with a sharp object.
The body of Abaker Adam Ishag was cremated without his family members being notified.
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) calls on the Government of Sudan to immediately investigate the grave allegations and hold those responsible to account.
The authorities should immediately guarantee the safety of Ismail Ibrahim Gamar Eldeen, (m), 30 years of age and Al Nour Omda Yagoub, (m), 28 years of age, who are thought to be detained at the Military Intelligence compound in El Geneina. They should be granted immediate access to appropriate medical care, their families and lawyers, and released immediately in the absence of valid legal charges consistent with international standards.
The reported allegations of torture and the circumstances leading to the death of Abakar Adam Ishag should be the subject of an immediate, thorough, impartial, public and transparent investigation by the Sudanese authorities.
Contact:
Mohamed Badawi, Monitoring Programme Coordinator, African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, info@acjps.org, +256 783 693 689.
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