AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
28 October 2009
Sudan
: Death row prisoner bore marks of torture
Amnesty International today said the Sudanese government was responsible for the death and ill-treatment of a prisoner who died from tuberculosis in police custody last week.
Ahmed Suleiman Sulman died on 21 October at the police hospital to which he was taken from Kober prison in Khartoum two days before his death. His body was still in shackles and showed evidence of torture.
He had also been suffering from a lung infection for a long time but was refused access to a specialised doctor by the prison despite requests by his lawyer.
Adam Suleiman Sulman was one of 103 men sentenced to death by the special counter-terrorism courts established following an attack by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), an armed opposition group, on Omdurman, near Khartoum, on 10 May 2009.
“The government must order an independent investigation into the death of Mr. Sulman. Torture is abhorrent and those responsible for Mr. Sulman’s ill-treatment and death must be brought to justice in fair trials.” said Tawanda Hondora Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Africa Programme.
Hundreds of people remain unaccounted for following the JEM attack on Omdurman.
Sulman was detained by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) between 12 and 13 May 2008. He was sentenced to death in August 2008 and had been in Kober prison since then.
According to information received by Amnesty International, Sulman, said to have been in his late-twenties, was severely traumatized by the torture he endured following his arrest. Several sources confirmed to Amnesty International that Sulman was mentally ill when he faced trial.
Amnesty International has serious concerns regarding the conditions in which prisoners are kept in Kober, and has received numerous accounts of ill-treatment and poor hygiene conditions.
“We are gravely concerned about the prisoners who remain in Kober prison. The Sudanese government must ensure that the detainees families and doctors have immediate access to them,” said Tawanda Hondora,
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