Hemeti: Sudan police and security forces will be held accountable if they break the law

Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo, Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Vice-President of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, said that any member of the police and other security forces will be held accountable if they violate the law during a speech in Khartoum on Saturday. Impunity and accountability have been contentious issues in negotiations between civilians and the military.

During a ceremony of the police forces in the Friendship Hall, he said that “there is nothing too big for the law and that any transgression is met with decisiveness,” and referred to the “many trials of members of the police or other regular forces, because of their transgression of the law”.

The RSF commander announced the formation of “a committee of competent bodies to investigate all crimes during the revolution”. He added that “a number of complaints have already been submitted to the courts”.

Hemeti affirmed that “the police will always remain neutral, regardless of any political situation”.

The remarks come at a time when questions around transitional justice, accountability, and possible immunity from prosecution are being discussed in negotiations for the Final Agreement between civilian parties and Sudan’s military apparatus.

In recent negotiations with civilian parties, the military commanders have been reportedly requesting immunity from legal prosecutions for crimes committed since the 2019 military coup, which included the June 3 Massacre and other violent crackdowns on protesters.

Impunity and the lack of accountability of military forces and affiliates of the former regime have been a point of contention for years. It is common for members of the armed forces to commit crimes and never face prosecution, or for detainees to be tortured or killed in custody without ever seeing any accountability.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), the official military, is currently also Chairman of Sudan’s main governing body, the Sovereignty Council, and therefore the official head of state whilst Hemeti is Vice Chairman.

The two leaders took power in a military coup last year.