RSF officers detained after killing of Sudan activist

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are questioning RSF officers in connection with the killing of young activist Bahaeldin Nouri last week. Protests erupted in Omdurman yesterday after a man died following his detention by the Federal Police.

Unidentified armed men abducted Nouri near his home in El Kalakla a week ago. In the early hours of the following day, his relatives found his body, showing visible signs of torture, in Omdurman Teaching Hospital.

RSF spokesman Brig Gen Jamal Juma admitted on the official RSF Facebook page that the death of the activist occurred after he was detained by the militia’s intelligence department.

The RSF has started questioning the head of the militia’s intelligence department and other officers in connection with the killing. All who participated in his abduction and killing are kept in custody until the investigation is completed, he said.

Minister of Culture and Information Feisal Mohamed Saleh confirmed to reporters in Khartoum yesterday that Nouri died during interrogation in one of the RSF detention centres.

At the request of the family of the victim a second autopsy was carried out by three doctors and a pathologist from the Stack Medical Research Laboratories in Khartoum yesterday. The report of the forensic team will be made public, Attorney General Tajelsir El Hibir said.

Reactions

The National Umma Party and the Sudanese Congress Party both issued a statement in which they condemned the killing of the young activist, and “the illegal detention by unauthorised authorities”. They demanded that the authorities expedite the investigation and hold those involved accountable.

Jibril Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), said at a press conference at the premises of Sudan News Agency yesterday that the Constitutional Document, signed by the then ruling Transitional Military Council and the opposition Forces for Freedom and Change in August 2019, does not authorise the RSF or any other regular force or militia to detain people.

He called on the Sudanese government “to strengthen its control over all security agencies, review their powers and competences, and dismantle their illegal detention centres”.

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), the driving force behind the December Revolution, demanded the closure of the detention facilities of the RSF and all other militia. All detainees must be released or transferred to police cells. All RSF officers involved in the detention, torture and killing of Bahaeldin Nouri must be handed over to the prosecution for investigation, the SPA stated.

Omdurman

Omdurman witnessed limited protests yesterday following the death of Ezzedin Hamed, who was subjected to torture by officers of the Federal Police.

Hamed was arrested on December 17, following a complaint lodged in August. He was detained at the police department in Ombadda, and released under investigation by the prosecution on December 25. After his release, his health condition deteriorated quickly. His family transferred him to a hospital where he died.

The Omdurman police press office said in a statement on Sunday that an official complaint was filed under Article 130 (premeditated murder) of the Sudanese Criminal Law. The officers involved un Hamed’s detention have been detained, awaiting questioning. The prosecution stated that the autopsy report confirmed that Hamed was severely beaten.

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