Date: 7/14/2008
Amherst, MA- The Group Against Torture in Sudan-GATS strongly welcomes the announcement of the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor of charges to indict President Omer al-Bashir for his war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The victims and survivors of President al-Bashir’s regime have waited this decision for a long time and hoping not to wait longer before bringing him to court.
For more than 19 years, the regime of President al-Bashir continued to wage war against its own people with little action or none from the international community. For the first time in the recent history of states, the regime adopted torture as an official policy to punish peaceful opposition. Torture Centers, or as also known as Ghost Houses, spread all over the country. GATS documented over 30 Ghost Houses in Khartoum including the infamous Citibank Ghost House (see: http://ghosthouses.blogspot.com/2008/04/citibank-ghost-house-in-downtown.html).
The crimes of the regime in Darfur did not start in 2003, as the ICC indictment limited to this date. The mass killing and targeting of specific ethnic groups began in the early 1990s when al-Bashir assigned Darfur to one his close military aid known as Tayeb Sikha. However, over the past five years the destruction of Darfur people reached its high point as correctly the ICC prosecutor noted in his report.
GATS actively participated in having President al-Bashir put on trial by the world peoples in Nov 2006. The International Citizens’ Tribunal for Sudan (ICTS) chaired by Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka found al-Bashir guilty of 15 different charges. Ten of these counts were included in the indictment case of the ICC prosecutor (http://www.judgmentongenocide.org/)
“It’s unethical and immoral that some people did not welcome the announcement claiming that the prosecutor targeted al-Bashir and ignored other cases around the world” said Ms. Eithar Abutaha, member of GATS and one of the five judges who indicted al-Bashir in 2006 Tribunal, “it’s a twisted logic since this prosecutor was assigned for this specific case, and the court will decide whether the charges are valid or not. Let’s address first the case in our hands”
GATS call on the human rights community to welcome and support the announcement of the General Prosecutor of the ICC. The 400,000 torture survivors in the US should in particular celebrate this moment and support their Sudanese refugee community that includes many torture survivors.
Amherst, MA- The Group Against Torture in Sudan-GATS strongly welcomes the announcement of the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor of charges to indict President Omer al-Bashir for his war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The victims and survivors of President al-Bashir’s regime have waited this decision for a long time and hoping not to wait longer before bringing him to court.
For more than 19 years, the regime of President al-Bashir continued to wage war against its own people with little action or none from the international community. For the first time in the recent history of states, the regime adopted torture as an official policy to punish peaceful opposition. Torture Centers, or as also known as Ghost Houses, spread all over the country. GATS documented over 30 Ghost Houses in Khartoum including the infamous Citibank Ghost House (see: http://ghosthouses.blogspot.com/2008/04/citibank-ghost-house-in-downtown.html).
The crimes of the regime in Darfur did not start in 2003, as the ICC indictment limited to this date. The mass killing and targeting of specific ethnic groups began in the early 1990s when al-Bashir assigned Darfur to one his close military aid known as Tayeb Sikha. However, over the past five years the destruction of Darfur people reached its high point as correctly the ICC prosecutor noted in his report.
GATS actively participated in having President al-Bashir put on trial by the world peoples in Nov 2006. The International Citizens’ Tribunal for Sudan (ICTS) chaired by Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka found al-Bashir guilty of 15 different charges. Ten of these counts were included in the indictment case of the ICC prosecutor (http://www.judgmentongenocide.org/)
“It’s unethical and immoral that some people did not welcome the announcement claiming that the prosecutor targeted al-Bashir and ignored other cases around the world” said Ms. Eithar Abutaha, member of GATS and one of the five judges who indicted al-Bashir in 2006 Tribunal, “it’s a twisted logic since this prosecutor was assigned for this specific case, and the court will decide whether the charges are valid or not. Let’s address first the case in our hands”
GATS call on the human rights community to welcome and support the announcement of the General Prosecutor of the ICC. The 400,000 torture survivors in the US should in particular celebrate this moment and support their Sudanese refugee community that includes many torture survivors.
المجموعة السودانية لمناهضة التعذيب
ترحب المجموعة السودانية لمناهضة التعذيب بشدة بقرار المدعي العام لمحكمة الجنايات الدولية في لاهاي باتهام الرئيس السوداني عمر حسن أحمد البشير لارتكابه جرائم حرب وجرائم ضد الانسانية بالاضافة الى الابادات العرقية الجماعية . لقد طال أمد انتظار ضحايا هذا النظام لهكذا قرار من الشرعية الدولية وهم على أمل ألا يطول الانتظار لمثول البشير أمام المحكمة.ظل نظام البشير لأكثر من 19 عاما يواصل اشعال فتيل الحرب ضد أبناء الوطن دون ردة فعل جادة من المجتمع الدولي. لأول مرة في تاريخ السودان الحديث اتخذ النظام الحاكم بالخرطوم من التعذيب وسيلة مشروعة لمعاقبة المعارضين السياسيين.مما لا يخفى على الجميع انتشار مراكز التعذيب أو ما يعرف ببيوت الأشباح في جميع أرجاء السودان. قامت المجموعة السودانية لمناهضة التعذيب برصد و كشف لأكثر من 30 مركز من هذه البيوت سيئة السمعة والتي يتم فيها تعذيب يصل لحد القتل لكل من يجاهر بمعارضة نظام البشير , من ضمن هذه البيوت سيتي بنك الشهير.من المعلوم ان جرائم هذا النظام في دارفور لم تبدأفي العام 2003م كما جاء في تقرير المدعي العام لمحكمة الجنايات الدولية, و انما بدأت بقتل الجماهير و ملاحقة مجموعات عرقية بعينها منذ بدايات حكم الانقاذ المظلم عندما كلف البشير أحد معاونيه العسكريين (الطيب سيخة) لتولي ملف دارفور حيث وصل تدمير الاقليم الى ذروته خلال السنوات الخمس الأخيرة كما جاء في تقرير المدعي العام لمحكمة الجنايات الدولية.لقد لعبت المجموعة السودانية لمناهضة التعذيب دورا هاما في تقديم البشير لمحاكمة أمام العالم في نوفمبر 2006 قامت المحكمة و بمشاركة الأديب العالمي النيجيري الحائز على جائزة نوبل للسلام لوريت وول سوينكا باتهام الرئيس البشير ب15 تهمة ,عشرة منها مضمنة في تقرير المدعي العام لمحكمة الجنايات الدولية.انه ليس من الشرف أو الضميرما روج له البعض من عدم الاعتراف بقرارات المحكمة بداعي ملاحقة البشير فقط و عدم ملاحقة المحكمة لحالات أخرى حول العالم, قالت الأستاذة ايثار أبو طه عضوة المجموعة و أحد القضاة الخمس الذين شاركوا في محاكمة البشير عام 2006 بنيويورك : "أن هذه الحجة غير منطقية حيث أن المدعي العام كان قد أوكل بالنظر في هذه القضية تحديدا وأن القرار بالادانة يرجع للمحكمة".تدعو المجموعة السودانية لمناهضة التعذيب منظمات المجتمع المدني وحقوق الانسان للوقوف الى جانب تقرير المدعي العام, ان أكثر من 400000 من ضحايا التعذيب بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية سيحتفلون بهذه اللحظة التاريخية و سيدعمون اللاجئين السياسيين بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية و الذين بينهم أعداد كبيرة من ضحايا تعذيب نظام البشير
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The Group Against Torture in Sudan is an advocacy human rights membership group of Sudanese-American torture survivors and their allies. GATS works to educate the public about the dilemmas of torture worldwide and especially in Sudan, and forms allies with similar interest groups
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The Group Against Torture in Sudan is an advocacy human rights membership group of Sudanese-American torture survivors and their allies. GATS works to educate the public about the dilemmas of torture worldwide and especially in Sudan, and forms allies with similar interest groups
# # #
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