UK deportees 'tortured in Sudan'

Violence in Darfur has left many thousands of people displaced

Asylum seekers from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region have been tortured after being deported back to their capital from the UK, a human rights group says.

The Aegis Trust said it had evidence that people from Darfur, in the west, had been abused while in detention in Khartoum - on the other side of Sudan.

It said it had corroborated claims by five Darfuris who had had asylum applications rejected by the UK.

The UK government is due to challenge a court ruling against deportations.

In April, the Court of Appeal ruled that no further Darfuris could be deported.

But the Home Office says it is safe to send them back to parts of Sudan other than Darfur and appealed to the House of Lords, which will consider the case on Thursday.

I was blindfolded most of the time - my whole body was numb Darfuri Sadiq Adam Osman Escapee fears deportation Asylum seekers win appeals

Darfuri Sadiq Adam Osman said that on 5 February he was put on a plane in handcuffs in the UK and sent back to Khartoum after being declared a failed asylum seeker.

On his return he was taken to jail, where "the beatings and questions went on for days", he said.

"I was blindfolded most of the time - my whole body was numb. At times I lost consciousness - I was expecting to die."

The Aegis Trust said it helped Mr Osman to escape and had corroborated his story with photographs of his injuries as well as medical testimony.

The House of Lords will not hear evidence of such alleged torture but will review the decision by the Court of Appeal to block Home Office plans to send Darfuri asylum seekers back.

The Home Office insists it is safe to send them back to other parts of Sudan and said the deportation ban had nothing to do with safety fears, but was imposed because the courts were worried about people's living conditions in Khartoum.

The Aegis Trust said such deportations would be like sending Jews back to Nazi Germany.

Darfur has seen four years of conflict between black and Arab Sudanese people. More than 200,000 are believed to have died, with a further 2m displaced.

The Sudanese government has been accused of supporting militias who have destroyed countless villages - an action described as "genocide" by the US government.

The government admits having mobilised "self-defence militias" following rebel attacks, but denies any links to the Janjaweed, accused of trying to "cleanse" black Africans from large swathes of territory.