Sudan investigation committee on June 3 massacre kicks off

The independent investigation committee researching the violent break-up of the sit-in in front of the army command in Khartoum on June 3, announced that it has started its work. Witnesses can safely communicate with the committee.

The head of the committee, prominent human rights lawyer Nabil Adib, said in a press statement on Sunday that safe and appropriate offices, secretarial, technical and administrative staff, and devices and equipment, have been provided to the committee.

He said the committee requested documents, images and voice recordings from various government agencies concerning the June 3 events. This must enable the committee to determine whom it wishes to hear in person.

The committee made an appeal to civil society organisations, political parties, media institutions, and individuals to provide them within three weeks with documents and any unregistered information they may have.

A secure website has been established, to enable individuals and organisations to safely fill in a form to outline which information they have available and to determine the way the witness wishes to communicate with the committee.

The committee will keep both the information and the identity of the witnesses confidential if the witness so requests, Nabil Adib stated.

Massacre

The violent dismantling of the sit-in in front of the army command in Khartoum on June 3, also known as the Ramadan 29 massacre, caused the death of 127 people. About 700 protesters and others present at the sit-in that day were injured.

On August 7, the Sudanese Professionals Association Initiative for Missing People reported it documented more than 100 cases of people who went missing from the Khartoum sit-in on June 3.

Between June 3 and July 18, another 16 people were killed during commemoration rallies and anti-junta protests.

Since the outbreak of the anti-government protests in mid-December 2018, at least 246 people were killed and 1,353 others injured, the Sudan Doctors Central Committee reported on July 28.

According to the medics, 83 per cent of the victims were killed after April 11, the date President Omar Al Bashir was ousted in a military coup.

April and May saw 60 people killed across the country as protests pressuring the military to hand over power to a civilian government continued, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the militia that supported the ousted regime, ramped-up attempts to disperse the sit-in in front of the army command in Khartoum.

Investigation

Following the violent dispersal of the protesters at the Khartoum sit-in on June 3, the Transitional Military Council instructed the formation of a commission of inquiry.

The commission announced the outcomes in end-July. It accused officers of various ranks, including a general and a brigadier, of violating instructions of the Supreme Command. According to the report, 87 people were killed and 168 were injured during the attack.

Street protests erupted after the announcement of the results of the investigation. The Sudan Forensic Doctors Union described the report as “poor and defective, and disproportionate to the size of the crime committed as witnessed by all”.

In September, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok announced the formation of a new, neutral investigation committee.

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