28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

National intelligence and security service (NISS), military intelligence and police continued to commit human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment in 2007 ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 23353]

"The national intelligence and security service (NISS), military intelligence and police continued to commit human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment, and use of excessive force.

Political detainees, criminal suspects, Darfuris and others from marginalized areas, and students in Khartoum were routinely subjected to torture and ill-treatment.

Floggings continued to be imposed for a variety of public order offences including unlawful sexual intercourse and trading in alcohol.

Demonstrations were frequently repressed using excessive force."

Document(s): Open document

28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

President of Umma Party and at least 40 other persons arrested; Deputy Chairman of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) arrested; many of the detainees were tortured in detention ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 23355]

"Mubarak al-Fadel al-Mahdi, President of the Umma Party Reform and Renewal (UPRR), was arrested with at least 40 people, including many former army officers, in July and accused of smuggling arms and planning a coup.

Soon after, an order was issued forbidding discussion of the case in the press.

On 1 August Ali Mahmoud Hassanain, aged 73, a human rights lawyer and Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), was arrested.

Many of this group of detainees were tortured in incommunicado detention which lasted up to six weeks, apparently to force them to confess to an alleged plot.

Reported methods of torture included beatings, prolonged sitting or standing, and suspension with wrists and ankles tied behind the back (the tayyara, aeroplane).

In November Mubarak al-Fadel al-Mahdi and Ali Mahmoud Hassanain, a diabetic, went on hunger strike in protest at illegalities and delays in the pre-trial process.

On 4 December the state released Mubarak al-Fadel al-Mahdi without charge and on 31 December all other detainees received a Presidential pardon."

Document(s): Open document

22.05.2008 - Source: World Organisation Against Torture

Port Sudan: The student Ahmed Mohamed Abdu Hassan was abducted on 13 May 2008; he was taken away in a car allegedly belonging to the Military Service Department and tortured to reveal the whereabouts of political activists; he was freed and left unconscious on the street the same day ("Abduction and torture of student in Port Sudan [SDN 220508]") [ID 23923]

Document(s): Open document

05.2008 - Source: Sudan Organisation Against Torture

Nyala: Members of Zaghawa ethnic group arrested and tortured in detention ("Alternative Report To Sudan’s Periodic Report Before the 43rd Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Swaziland, May 2008)") [ID 24043]

"On 11 June 2006 five police officers from the Central Reserve Police arrested Sideeg Musa Saed (20 years old, Zaghawa, student) and Ismail Musa Abdel Gadeem (26 years old, Zaghawa, teacher) from al-Souq al-Shabi market in Nyala on suspicion of supporting one of the Darfur rebel factions.

The men were taken to the offices of the Central Reserve Police in Nyala, where they were beaten on their heads and backs with the butts of officers' guns and were flogged all over their bodies.

Mr Saead sustained serious injuries to his eye.

On the same day, the detainees were transferred to Nyala Wasat Police station where they were charged under Articles 50 (Undermining the Constitutional System) and 51 (Waging war against the State) of the Criminal Act 1991.

Mr Saed and Mr Gadeem were eventually acquitted and released. [...]

On 12 March 2006 police arrested Hashim Abdella Targiya (18 years old, Zaghawa) and Alsayid Adam Haroun (32 years old, Zaghawa) in the Otash IDP camp near Nyala, South Darfur.

The men were taken to Otash police station where they were subjected to physical abuse by three police officers.

The police officers tied the men's hands together with rope, kicked them with their boots and beat them on their faces.

Mr Targiya and Mr Haroun were released without charge the following day.

Both men sustained serious injuries during their detention."

Document(s): Open document

05.2008 - Source: Sudan Organisation Against Torture

South Darfur: Arbitrary arrest and torture in detention of members of the Fur ethnic group ("Alternative Report To Sudan’s Periodic Report Before the 43rd Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Swaziland, May 2008)") [ID 24045]

"On 25 April 2006 an individual named Ahmed al-Reheed (Fur) died in the custody of military intelligence in Sanya Dalaiba, South Darfur, as a result of physical abuse he suffered during 19 days that he spent in detention on suspicion of working with rebel groups.

No legal action has been taken against the perpetrators. [...]

On 7 September 2007 security agents arrested five men between the ages of 27 and 50 - four of Fur ethnicity and one of Marareet ethnicity - from the Otash IDP camp near Nyala, South Darfur, on suspicion of committing crimes against the state.

They were held without charge in the custody of the security services and were subjected to physical abuse including being flogged and kicked, and being beaten with hands and sticks.

The detainees were eventually released but the perpetrators of the abuse have not been arrested."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Government security forces, rebel groups and tribal factions continue to commit acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22819]

"Although the Interim National Constitution, adopted in 2005, prohibits such practices, government security forces continued to torture, beat, and harass suspected political opponents and others.

In Darfur and other areas of conflict, government forces, rebel groups, and tribal factions committed torture and abuse.

In 2005 the Government of Southern Sudan adopted a separate constitution based on common law, which prohibits torture; however, SPLA forces did not respect these provisions in practice. [...]

Government security forces tortured persons in detention.

For example, on July 14, NISS officers arrested 44 persons, including opposition politicians, and former police and military officers, for alleged coup plotting. Hand-written notes by the detainees detailing human rights violations surfaced on the Internet in August. Family members and lawyers also reported incidents of torture and mistreatment.

The most frequently reported forms of torture included severe beating on the face, hands, and feet.

One detainee reported being lifted up several times by his mustache [sic!] while sitting on a chair.

Others were threatened with sexual violence if they did not confess to plotting a coup.

Most detainees stated that they were blindfolded after their arrests, during transfer between detention sites, and during interrogations. [...]

On August 26, security forces arrested Shaiba Dirar, a leader of the Beja Congress, after a political debate he had organized at the local Beja Congress club. Dirar, who was released three days later, reported that he was tortured with electricity while in detention."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Darfur: All parties to the conflict perpetrated acts of torture and abuse in 2007 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23050]

"All parties to the conflict perpetrated acts of torture and abuse.

On February 14, a 55-year-old Fur woman was beaten by SLA/Minawi forces outside of Kunda village. According to UNMIS, the men accused her of providing food to a rival faction.

In March an IDP from the Rwanda camp reported that armed SLA/Minawi gunmen attacked 50 farmers in the area of Wadi Tina. When the IDP tried to flee, he was hit in the arm and then beaten with sticks and gun butts.

On September 9, approximately 40 unidentified militiamen attacked the villages of Merkele and Modogulu, West Darfur.

The militiamen pillaged homes and beat those who resisted with sticks and whips.

Four militiamen beat and whipped a 60-year-old sheikh and accused him of harboring rebels."

Document(s): Open document

15.11.2007 - Source: UK Home Office

Students and members of marginalised groups, like the Nuba or people from Darfur, likely to be beaten or otherwise tortured after arrest ("Country of Origin Information Report; Sudan") [ID 24205]

"Amnesty International published a list of known political detainees in Sudan in June 2005 which contained a number of persons listed as students.

An accompanying public statement, dated 1 July 2005, remarks that:

"Students and members of marginalised groups, like the Nuba and people from Darfur, are most likely to be beaten and otherwise tortured after arrest."[16o-16p]

AI, SOAT, OMCT SHRO-Cairo also recorded a number of incidents of arrest, detention, and suspected or actual cases of torture - some of which resulted in death - against politically active students, many of whom were of Darfuri origin, in 2004, 2005 and 2006."

Document(s): Open document

12.11.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

10 people sentenced to death by Khartoum Criminal Court for murder of journalist Mohammad Taha; reason to believe confessions that led to trial had been extracted under torture ("Urgent Action 302/07 [AFR 54/064/2007]") [ID 21759]

Document(s): Open document

01.11.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

South Darfur: Security forces seized 36 people from Otash Camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) on 29 October 2007; they are in danger of being tortured or ill-treated in detention ("Urgent Action 281/07 [AFR 54/058/2007]") [ID 21760]

"According to UN figures 2.2 million people in Darfur are now gathered in IDP camps.

They were driven out of their homes when, in response to attacks by armed opposition groups, the government armed and supported local militias, known as the Janjawid, as a proxy force.

The government and the Janjawid attempted to suppress the insurgency by deliberately targeting civilians of the same ethnicity as the armed opposition groups.

About 95,000 people have been killed, and more than 200,000 have died over the past four years as a result of conflict-related hunger or disease.

Vast areas of Darfur have been emptied of farmers, and hundreds of villages have been razed to the ground.

The UN has issued a statement expressing alarm at the violence against IDPs and the attempted forcible relocations in Otash Camp.

IDPs have complained that attempts by the SAF and police to forcibly relocate them away from some camps have been increasing over the past few months.

Government officials say that camps are too large. IDPs feel safer in the camps and have consistently resisted government pressure to move out of them into areas which are still dominated by armed members of the Janjawid militias who killed and displaced them.

Forcible relocation is prohibited by international standards."

Document(s): Open document

12.09.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

Kober prison: Report on torture and denial of medical care of 8 prisoners ("Health Professional Action - Torture / Denial of medical care [AFR 54/052/2007]") [ID 21693]

Document(s): Open document

07.09.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

5 men are held at Kober Prison in Khartoum where they have been tortured ("Urgent Action 241/07 [AFR 54/051/2007]") [ID 21942]

Document(s): Open document

23.05.2007 - Source: Amnesty International

Torture continued to be used systematically against certain groups, including students and detainees in Darfur ("Annual Report 2007") [ID 20086]

"Torture continued to be used systematically against certain groups, including students and detainees in Darfur.

• In February scores of students from Juba University in Khartoum were beaten with batons by armed police and security services after they gathered to call for the university to be relocated to Juba. Some 51 were detained and, according to reports, taken to secret centres known as "ghost houses" where they were beaten, deprived of food and not allowed access to legal counsel or their families.

• Ibrahim Birzi reportedly died as a result of torture and is thought to have been buried secretly. He was one of 13 internally displaced people from Foro Baranga, south of al-Jeneina in Darfur, who were arrested in September, severely beaten with bicycle chains and leather whips, and had their heads submerged under water. They were reportedly suspected of being supporters of the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M)."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Government security forces continued to torture, beat and harass suspected political opponents in 2006 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19130]

"Although the Interim National Constitution, adopted in July 2005 and hereafter referred to as the "interim constitution," prohibits such practices, government security forces continued to torture, beat, and harass suspected political opponents and others.

In December 2005 the Government of Southern Sudan adopted a separate constitution based on common law, which prohibits torture; however, SPLA forces did not respect these provisions in practice. [...]

During the year there were several reports of abuse by anti-smuggling police. For example, on March 27 anti-smuggling police in Kassala State, near the border with Eritrea, assaulted several persons from the Rashaida tribe in Hafayer town and confiscated their goods. Three days later, anti-smuggling police in Hafayer arrested and severely beat a Rashaida leader in front of his family. On April 23, anti-smuggling police arrested another man near Hafayer, confiscated his goods and money, and burned his hands with hot coal. The following day, anti-smuggling police raided a shop in Hafayer, confiscated several goods, and shot a 17-year-old boy in the foot as he was coming out of the local SPLM office.

On April 15, government soldiers arrested two men and one 13-year-old boy near Kulbus, West Darfur, and accused them of being "Tora Bora"--a slang term for Darfuri rebels. The soldiers beat the boy with electric wire and their rifle butts before transferring him to a detention cell for three days. While in detention, soldiers again beat the boy, threw water on him, and forced him to stand all night. On April 25, the boy was transferred to civilian custody and released the following day on orders of a judge in El Geneina.

On June 12, NISS officers detained and tortured a male student from the Islamic University in Omdurman. The student had distributed flyers calling for the university to reinstate several students who had been expelled for nonpayment of fees. The officials took the student to a room on campus, blindfolded him, and hung him by his feet from a ceiling fan. They then attempted to insert a glass bottle into his anus, beat him with a metal bar, and shocked his hands and feet with electric wires. They released him after he signed documents obliging him to pay over $7,000 (SDD 1.5 million). The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) later verified the victim's injuries with a medical certificate.

On September 7, SPLA soldiers beat at least six university students in Wau after the university director asked the SPLA to intervene to protect the university from student agitators. UNMIS reported that the students were beaten without provocation, some after simply acknowledging that they were students at the university. On September 19, the governor of Western Bahr al Ghazal ordered the university closed for one year and asked police and SPLA to remove all students from campus.

"

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Mistreatment in custody by security forces and other inmates widespread ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19247]

"The government routinely mistreated persons in custody. There were credible reports that security forces held detainees incommunicado; beat them; deprived them of food, water, and toilets; and forced them to sleep on cold floors.
Juveniles often were held with adults and in some cases subjected to sexual abuse by the adult inmates. In October 2005 an adult inmate raped a 16-year-old male in police detention in Juba."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

2 internally displaced women severely beaten by police after they resisted police attempts to steal money from their home ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19248]

"In other cases of police abuse, victims who complained were punished. For example, in June two southern IDP women in Omdurman, one of whom was seven months' pregnant, were severely beaten by police after they resisted police attempts to steal money from their home. The women were taken to the Thowra police station, where they were beaten again by a senior police officer. The following day, when the women were taken to court, one of the women complained about the abuse to the judge. Three police officers accused her of lying and defaming the police. The judge ruled in favor of the police, and sentenced her to 30 lashes and a $23 (SDD 5,000) fine for defamation."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Darfur: Government soldiers who beat shopkeepers go unpunished ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19271]

"On October 9, nine government soldiers severely beat a shopkeeper in the central market of El Fasher city and then proceeded to beat several neighboring shopkeepers. They called the victims "slaves" and stole several mobile phones from the shops. Other soldiers returned to the market on October 12, beating other shopkeepers and looting stores. On October 13, soldiers shot a butcher in the market four times following a dispute over payment. Local police later told the shopkeepers they had no jurisdiction against crimes committed by the military."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Numerous reports of human rights violations against internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 2006 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19409]

"There were numerous reports of abuses committed against IDPs, including rapes, beatings, and attempts by the government to forcibly return persons to their homes (see section 1.g.). There were credible reports that the government harassed IDPs in Darfur who spoke with foreign observers, especially high-profile foreigners, demanding to know the content of their discussions."

Document(s): Open document

23.05.2006 - Source: Amnesty International

Torture remains widespread ("Annual Report 2006") [ID 18344]

"Torture was widespread. In particular, suspected supporters of armed political groups and people within IDP camps were arbitrarily detained and tortured.

On 14 March, military intelligence arrested Bakheet Alhaj from Sanya Afondu IDP camp. He was reportedly held in a hole in the ground for 13 days, flogged and beaten with gun butts. On 7 April he was remanded in custody to await trial."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Torture in custody remains widespread ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 18923]

"Torture is routine and widespread. Many detainees, both persons detained for political reasons and persons suspected of having committed ordinary crimes, are affected. The real number of people who are being tortured is unknown, but it might go into thousands every year. There are a number of recorded deaths in custody as a result of torture, and even after release from the results of torture. In case of ill-treatment by security officials, there is no complaint mechanism."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Students tortured ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 18924]

"Male and female students were badly beaten, in some cases women had to be treated for at least one or two moths in intensive care in hospital as a result of the maltreatment. When we insisted on having an investigation, the president called for an investigation committee, but we never got any report or results of this investigations. I personally saw one case where a student had been tortured with 45 cigarette burns on his hands. We followed the case, but the judiciary did not react."

Document(s): Open document