VZCZCXRO4231
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0918/01 1721236
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201236Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1107
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

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