BMJ  2005;330:1350 (11 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7504.1350

News

Sudan arrests aid worker for "crimes against the state"

London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The arrest of Paul Foreman, head of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Holland, for publishing a report on rape in Darfur has caused repercussions in Africa and Europe. But despite the outrage caused by his detention, the Sudanese government went a step further by also arresting the agency's Darfur regional coordinator, Vincent Hoedt.

"These arrests are totally unacceptable. The government is punishing humanitarian aid workers for doing their job for victims of the conflict," said MSF's director in Holland, Geoff Prescott. "As providers of medical assistance and as human beings we find it impossible to stay silent when we are witnessing these abuses." He pointed out that his agency was the largest in the region, working in more than 29 locations with 180 expatriate and 3000 national staff, who have carried out more than a million consultations in the past 12 months.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

Violence in Darfur region is jeopardising world's largest aid operation

Peter Moszynski
BMJ 2006 333: 319. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Sharing evidence on humanitarian relief

Edward J Mills
BMJ 2005 331: 1485-1486. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

How Islam changed medicine

Azeem Majeed
BMJ 2005 331: 1486-1487. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Women and girls are still victims of violence in Darfur

Peter Moszynski
BMJ 2005 331: 654. [Extract] [Full Text]

In brief
BMJ 2005 330: 1464. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Moszynski, P. (2006). Violence in Darfur region is jeopardising world's largest aid operation. BMJ 333: 319-319 [Full text]  
• Mills, E. J (2005). Sharing evidence on humanitarian relief. BMJ 331: 1485-1486 [Full text]  

Online poll

Find out more >>