A couple of letters with neat links

#1
Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir
Office of the President
People's Palace, PO Box 281
Khartoum
Sudan

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Your Excellency,

On September 27th, fifteen Ethiopian refugees, including alleged members of the Oromo Liberation Front, were forcibly returned to Ethiopia, in clear breach of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

Sudan is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, all of which oblige you not to forcibly return any person to a country where they risk torture or other serious human rights violations. So, please do not return the Ethiopian refugees and asylum-seekers now in custody to Ethiopia.

Please ensure that all Ethiopian refugees detained in Sudan are treated humanely, provided with adequate medical treatment, allowed to challenge the lawfulness of their detention before a judicial authority, and given immediate access to the UNHCR.

Sincerely and Respectfully,

[etc.]


#2
Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed
Chief Adviser
Office of the Chief Adviser
Bangladesh

Friday, November 2, 2007

Dear Chief Adviser,

On October 24th, a group of 10-12 plainclothes Rapid Action Battalion agents arrested Jahangir Alam Akash, head of the Rajshahi office of the independent TV station CBS News. Mr. Akash is the local head of both the Task Force against Torture and the Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights.

Please release Mr. Akash immediately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for broadcasting reports critical of the Rapid Action Battalion. Please ensure that Jahangir Alam Akash is protected from any further torture, and given any medical attention he may require. The reports of the torture of Mr. Akash ought to be investigated by an independent, impartial, and competent body, to bring those responsible to justice.

Sincerely and Respectfully,