Two Fur Women Researching Darfur Face Capital Charges in Nyala

(14 December) On 5 December, police in Nyala, South Darfur, arrested Fatima Mohamed Alhassan, a 39- year old member of the Fur tribe and employee of the tourism authority of Nyala. Two days later, Ms. Alhassan’s relative and roommate, Fatima Adam Ibrahim, was arrested. Ms. Ibrahim is a 36-year old member of the Fur tribe, and works for the meteorological service in Nyala. Both women were taken to the Central Police Station in Nyala and charged by the Military Intelligence of South Darfur in Case no. 4684 under Articles 50 (undermining the constitutional system) and 51 (waging war against the state) of the 1991 Sudanese Criminal Code. Articles 50 and 51 are both punishable by death, life imprisonment, or a lesser penalty. Convicted individuals may also be subject to forfeiture of property.

Fatima Mohamed Alhassan had been conducting research on a book on Darfur, including questions of accountability and justice, none of which had been published.  The police seized her notes for the book, testimonies of victims, and a copy of a photo-shopped picture that had appeared on a website online of President Omar al-Bashir being arrested by two police officers. Fatima Ibrahim had been compiling the research, including Ms. Alhassan’s notes. All of the research and documentation was attached as evidence to the case file, and the investigation so far has focused on the two women’s possible linkages with rebel groups. Nyala’s prosecutor refused to set bail for the two women, as under Article 106 of the Criminal Code bail for individuals accused of crimes which carry capital sentencing can only be set in murder cases where the family of the victim agrees.

On 12 December, Fatima Alhassan was interrogated by National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) for three hours before being returned to police custody. On 13 December, both women were taken to Nyala Women’s Prison, where they await trial. A team of lawyers have taken their case.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies expresses serious concern about the implications of this trial for political opposition and freedom of speech in Sudan. It seems untenable to suggest that the unpublished research that the women were carrying out could constitute an attack on the state.  The fact that these women are being targeted for the content of unpublished notes indicates an exceptional attack on freedom of expression, protected by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Article 39 of the Sudanese Interim National Constitution. Further, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement articulated that the NISS could no longer assist the police in interrogations. In the past year, transfers of detainees from police custody to NISS offices for short periods of time have increased significantly. The African Centre has serious concerns that the women may be subjected to torture. With the NISS’ use of torture well-documented and Sudanese law allowing for evidence obtained through torture to be used in trials, impartial monitoring of the case is imperative.

Further, this case highlights disturbing trends in the usage of the death penalty in Sudan recently documented by the African Centre in a comprehensive report “Widening the Scope: The Expanding Use of Capital Punishment in Law and Practice in Sudan”. The African Centre opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, particularly when it is deployed to silence opposition voices exercising their internationally recognised right to the freedom of expression and association. The report documents increasing use of capital punishment against members of ethnic minorities and for political crimes. Though the women have not been convicted of anything as of yet and capital sentencing is not mandatory, the case illuminates the arbitrary usage of the death penalty in Sudan. Even if the women are sentenced to a much lesser punishment, the potential of being executed (particularly for a crime based on freedom of expression and opinion) constitutes a form of torture in light of the mental anguish imposed by facing capital sentencing.

Copyright 2011