JURIST - Paper Chase: Darfur rebels to face terror charges: Sudan official

[JURIST] Detained members of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) [organization website], a rebel group from Sudan's Darfur region [JURIST news archive], will be charged with terrorism and tried this week, Sudanese Justice Minister Abdel Basset Sabdarat told AP Monday. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that Sudanese security forces arrested over 100 JEM members [HRW press release] following a May 10 attack on the Sudanese city of Omdurman. Trials will begin as early as Wednesday in special courts. AP has more.

On Tuesday, HRW released a report [text, PDF; HRW press release] detailing detainee abuse in the wake of the May 10 rebel attack. The report calls on the Sudanese government to identify the prisoners detained in connection with the attack, and to release any detainees who have no connection to rebel activities. Since civil war broke out in the Darfur region in 2003, over 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced. Reports by the UNHCHR and the International Committee for the Red Cross [official website] have documented numerous violations of human rights and international humanitarian law [JURIST reports] based on interviews with refugees, rebel groups, and agencies and authorities working in the region.

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