Doctors call for improvement of health situation in Sudan’s prisons

Senior doctors in Sudan and abroad have submitted a memorandum to the Sudanese president about the health situation of political prisoners.

The 109 signatories stressed that these detainees, of whom Faroug Abu Eisa and Dr Amin Mekki Madani are the most prominent, were degraded in their human dignity and stripped of their right to medical treatment.

In the memorandum, the doctors demanded a prompt decision to release the detainees or to guarantee their rights to health care, “in a manner that preserves their lives and dignity”. They also called for the formation of a neutral committee comprised of a number of the memorandum's signatories, that medically examines the political detainees.

The spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in December stated that she was concerned about the health of Abu Eisa and Dr Madani. “We have received information indicating that there are serious concerns about the health and safety of Dr Medani, 76 years, and Dr Eisa, 78 years. Both men require essential daily medication as they are diabetic and Dr Medani has high blood pressure while Dr Eissa suffers from cyanosis,” Ravina Shamdasani stressed in a press statement.

The signatories concluded the memorandum by wishing that those who have enforced the arbitrary detention and violated the rights of the detainees are held accountable for their crimes.

Hospital

Abu Eisa, head of the National Consensus Forces, and Dr Madani, chairman of the Civil Society Initiative, signed the political communiqué named the Sudan Appeal with Sudanese rebel and opposition movements, They were detained by security officers in Khartoum after their arrival from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 6 December. They are charged with undermining the constitutional order, and instigating war against the state.

Abu Eisa was taken to hospital on 24 December. His family worried that his health would deteriorate rapidly. “My father has lost a lot of weight caused by solitary confinement for more than two weeks,” daughter Nahla Abu Eisa told the press in Khartoum.

Their defence lawyers accused the Sudanese authorities of prolonging their detention without any legal justification. Many rights organisations and political parties have condemned the actions taken against the two Sudan Appeal signatories and a number of sit-ins have been held since their detention.