E/CN.4/1996/35/Add.1 page 120 testified about their treatment during their trial in January 1994, as a result of which the court ordered medical examinations. The examinations confirmed the torture allegations in five cases, including those of the two above-mentioned persons, but no action was reportedly taken against the officials responsible for the torture. 632. Ali al-Mahi al-Sakhi, President of the Central Foundry Workers Trade Union in Sudan, was reportedly arrested along with five other persons in June 1994 in connection with union activities. He was allegedly tortured in a secret detention centre in Khartoum. It was unknown whether he was ever released. 633. Abdallah Yusif, aged 65, and Mahanna Muhammed, Christian converts from Islam, were reportedly convicted of apostasy and sentenced to lashing and crucifixion by an Islamic court in Wad Medani on 18 July 1994. Abdallah Yusif was reported to have received four lashes before collapsing, while Mahanna Muhammed was said to have received 100 lashes as prescribed by the court. The two men were subsequently granted a stay of execution. 634. Abdalmonim Rahama, a trade unionist arrested from his sick bed by security officers on 11 September 1994, was reportedly taken to a secret detention centre in Medani, Gazira province, and allegedly tortured to death. Officials returned his body to his family on 15 September 1994 with the explanation that he had died from malaria, but the corpse was said to bear clear marks of torture. 635. Safi Al-Tayeb Safi, a medical doctor arrested at his home in Khartoum North on 9 January 1995, was allegedly tortured and released the same night. Upon his arrival home, he reportedly was coughing up blood and bleeding from the ears. On the way to hospital, he fell into a coma and died. 636. Widad Hassan Ali Karrar, Samira Hassan Ali Karrar, Alia Hassan Ali Karrar, Mahasin (wife of Bashir El Tayid), Souad Abdelrahim and Awadis Mirgani were among 28 women and children allegedly beaten severely by security officers on 25 February 1995 during a demonstration at the university in Khartoum. They had been protesting the execution in April 1990 of their relatives, 28 army officers. Widad Hassan Ali Karrar allegedly was grabbed by the hair and her head was beaten against a wall, resulting in her hospitalization. The other persons named above were allegedly beaten at security offices in Khartoum North. They were subsequently transferred to security headquarters where they allegedly were beaten again, threatened with rape, and forced to stand on the roof of the building for a prolonged period in severe heat. 637. Yasir al-Tayyib Uthman was allegedly beaten on 22 and 23 May 1995 in Sennar by security forces. He was also required to report to the offices of the security forces on a daily basis. The beatings were said to have been carried out as a reprisal for the activities of his brother, Zayn al-Abidin al-Tayyib Uthman, who is chairman of the Sudanese Victims of Torture Group (SVTG) in Cairo. Sudanese security officials had reportedly contacted the brother in Cairo to demand an end to his SVTG activities and, when he refused, to have threatened to harm his family.