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Imprisoned
February
Osama Ghandi, Sudanese Television, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Hassan Saleh, Sudanese Television, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Ghandi and Saleh, a cameraman and a technician for state-owned Sudanese Television, were detained in February for their alleged involvement in a coup attempt by Sudanese army officers earlier in the year. Both men were prosecuted as part of a secret military court trial that convened on Aug. 21. In a Sept. 18 session, Ghandi said that his confession of involvement in the coup attempt had been coerced under torture by military intelligence agents. During the proceeding, he removed his shirt to reveal scars that he said were the result of his torture. CPJ Oct. 3 criticized the government's use of a military court to prosecute Ghandi and Saleh, who are civilians. CPJ also called on the Sudanese government to transfer their cases to a civilian court and to discard any evidence extracted under torture.
September 4
Babakr Othaman, Al-Watan, IMPRISONED, MISSING
Othaman, a reporter for the Qatari daily Al-Watan, was arrested by Sudanese authorities. Othaman's colleagues believe he was arrested in relation to articles he had written about the Sudanese government. Sudanese officials maintained that Othaman's arrest and detention were unrelated to his writing and were undertaken for security reasons. On Sept. 26, CPJ wrote to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, urging him to ascertain Othaman's whereabouts and to make public the official charges, if any, against him. Othaman was released on Nov. 28.
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