Sudan: Sep. 2013 protesters acquitted, re-detained on same charges

On Tuesday, an Omdurman court acquitted 12 young men who were detained during the demonstrations of September 2013. The case of the 12 youths is known in the Sudanese media as the “Dar El Salam protesters case”. The police of Dar El Salam district in Omdurman had charged the young men with rioting, violence, and theft on October 2013. The judge of the Central Omdurman Court discharged the case against them, saying that “the court did not find any evidence proving the charges against the accused”. He noted that the accused did not provide their confessions voluntarily. The confessions were obtained under torture. The judge therefore ordered their immediate release. However, the young men were re-detained upon their release. They were notified that there were further charges against them, and transferred to the Dar El Salam police station. Bakri Jibril, member of the defence team told Radio Dabanga that the new charges are exactly the same as the ones they were acquitted of. “The law does not allow prosecution on the basis of the same charges twice.” File photo