URGENT ACTION

SUDANESE POLITICIAN AND SUPPORTERS HELD

Four employees of a newspaper affiliated to a Sudanese opposition party are detained incommunicado at unknown locations and are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. Amnesty International believes that the detainees, all of whom are men, are prisoners of conscience, held for expressing their opinions.

On 15 May,four employees of the national Rai Al Shaabnewspaper: Ashraf Abdelaziz, the newspaper’s editor, Abuzar Al Amin, Deputy Editor in Chief, printer Abu Baker Al Sammani, and administrator Nagi Dahab, were arrested in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). These arrests followed the arrest of Hassan Al Turabi, leader of the opposition Popular Congress Party.While Hassan Al Turabi has been reportedly transferred to Kober prison, it is not known where the other detainees are being held.

The office of Rai Al Shaab, which supports the Popular Congress Party, was also raided by the NISS. On the morning of 16 May, employees found NISS officers had closed the office and were standing guard outside it.

There have been a number of incidents in recent months where journalists, activists and others who speak out against the Sudanese government have been detained by the NISS.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English, Arabic or your own language:

• Calling for Ashraf Abdelaziz, Abuzar Al Amin, Abu Baker Al Sammani, Nagi Dahab and Hassan Al Turabi to be immediately and unconditionally released;

• Urging the authorities to reveal the whereabouts of those detained, and grant them immediate access to their families, lawyers, and any medical treatment they may require;

• Calling for the 2010 National Security Act to be reformed to remove the excessive powers of the NISS, such as arrest and detention without judicial oversight, and search and seizure.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 29 JUNE 2010 TO: