Sudan forces break up Khartoum protest against illegal detention centres
Protests in central Khartoum on Sunday, against detention centres of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the security apparatus, have been dispersed by the police.
The demonstration in El Gasr Street and the vigil in front of the Public Prosecution was stopped by “an excessive use of tear gas”, one of the protestors told Radio Dabanga.
Know Your Right poster demanding the Attorney General to close illegal detention centres in the country (sudaneseprofessionals.org)
Protests in central Khartoum against detention centres of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the security apparatus, have been dispersed by the police on Sunday.
The demonstration in El Gasr Street and the vigil in front of the Public Prosecution was stopped by “an excessive use of tear gas”, one of the protestors told Radio Dabanga.
The protests, organised by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), called for restricting detention competences to the police only, the closure of the RSF detention centres and other ‘ghost houses’ in the country, and retribution for the protestors killed during the 2018 December revolution.
The participants of the vigil were able to hand a memorandum to Attorney General Tajelsir El Hibir carrying their demands. El Hibir addressed them, confirming that the prosecution continues investigating the violent death of young activist Bahaeldin Nouri.
On December 21, RSF officers detained Nouri in southern Khartoum. His family found his body the following morning in the mortuary of the Omdurman Teaching Hospital. The officers accused of the murder have been arrested. The reason for Nouri’s detention remains unknown.
In response, the SPA, the driving force behind the 2018 December Revolution, launched the campaign Know Your Right, in protest to the violence of the RSF used against “ordinary citizens”. The association also demands the dissolution of the militia.
The government surpassed the two-week deadline the SPA gave them to close all illegal detention centres in the country.
More protests are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday.
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