Four Darfuri students sentenced to whipping after clashes with NCP students

Four students from Darfur, studying at the El Ahliya University in Omdurman, were sentenced to twenty whippings and fines. Three others were acquitted.

Hasabelnabi Mahmoud, the Secretary-General of the Association of Darfuri Students at the El Ahliya University, said that the fines of SDG2,500 ($417) per each student were instantly paid in the Umbadda court. The whipping sentences were appealed.

Last month, the security services arrested seven students following clashes between Darfuri students and students who are members of the ruling National Congress Party's youth movement. The security services accused them of breaching of public safety, and causing public nuisance. The case of the seven Darfuri students was postponed because the complainant did not appear.

Fighting between Darfuri students and youth members of the NCP intensified after the death of Mohamed Awad El Karim, a senior member of the NCP student wing at Sharg El Nil College, on 29 April. According to reports, the NCP students often started the fighting, assaulting others during meetings and at discussion corners inside the universities. The Darfur Students Association has said the attacks are part of a “racist campaign”.

“About one third of the Darfuri students in the Sudanese capital have been subjected to beatings the last couple of weeks,” it reported during a press conference in May. “The number of Darfuri students who were wounded in attacks at Khartoum universities has risen to 221.”