Dear President Bashir,

We are writing to petition you to allow Mr. Suleiman Jamous to travel freely to obtain urgent medical attention.

In our different capacities, we have come to know and respect Suleiman for his humanitarian work in Darfur and his commitment to the wellbeing of the people of Sudan. He exemplified the best tradition of civic activism in Sudan including personal piety and self-sacrifice in the cause of providing essential assistance to those in need.

For one year, Suleiman Jamous has been confined to a hospital in Kadugli, South Kordofan. He is suffering from an abdominal complaint and needs urgent medical attention he cannot get in Kadugli. Without this attention his condition is deteriorating.

We fully appreciate the complexities of the circumstances that led to Suleiman being taken to Kadugli and kept there. Commenting on these political circumstances is beyond our collective concerns. However, we believe that it is not appropriate for an individual Sudanese citizen in need of medical care to be confined in this way because of such considerations. First and foremost, Suleiman Jamous is an individual with all the rights that a Sudanese citizen should enjoy.

It is within your power to enable him to travel to obtain the treatment he needs. We respectfully ask you to do so.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

Mia Farrow, Goodwill UNICEF Ambassador

Juan Mendez, President of the International Centre for Transitional Justice and former UN Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide

Richard Holbrooke, former US Ambassador to the United Nations

Vaclav Havel, former President of Czechoslovakia

Chibli Mallat, Lebanese presidential candidate and Professor of Law and Politics of the Middle East, University of Utah

Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Alex de Waal, fellow of the Global Equity Initiative, Harvard University

Julie Flint, independent writer and researcher

Bahey El-Din Hassan, Secretary General of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights