05.05.2008 - Source: Freedom House

Security forces practise arbitrary arrest and torture with impunity; prison conditions do not meet international standards ("The Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies 2008") [ID 23575]

"Police and security forces practice arbitrary arrest and torture with impunity, and prison conditions do not meet international standards."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Few attempts to bring to justice government agents who had tortured or mistreated citizens ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19133]

"There were few attempts during the year to bring to justice police, soldiers, and other government agents who had tortured or mistreated citizens in previous years.

No action was taken against government officials responsible for the following abuses in 2005: the January beating of political activist Salah Abdelrahman, who was held without charge for eight months; the February detention and beating of Mahmoud Abaker Osman and Diggo Abdel Jabbar; the August torturing of numerous persons in connection with the Khartoum riots; and the October torture of nine students on the campus of Islamic University in Omdurman after they attempted to form a union. "

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Impunity of security forces remains serious problem in 2006 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19252]

"Impunity remained a serious problem, although on a few occasions during the year courts prosecuted police and other officials for abuses they had committed. On May 3, the Special Criminal Court for the Events in Darfur issued a verdict on the only case referred to it since its establishment in November 2005. The court acquitted two Military Intelligence (MI) officers and one civilian on charges of robbery and war crimes (pillaging), stemming from an October 2005 attack by Arab militia on Tama, in South Darfur. However, the court convicted the three men of "criminal joint acts" and theft, sentencing them to at least two years in prison. On the same day, the El Geneina General Court convicted a police officer from Mornei of raping a 10-year-old girl in 2005, and sentenced him to three years in prison and 100 lashes.

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.[...]

There was access to court for lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations, but the lack of an independent judiciary made it unlikely that such lawsuits would be successful. [...]

There was access to court for lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations, but the lack of an independent judiciary made it unlikely that such lawsuits would be successful. [...]

There were no reports that the government prosecuted or otherwise penalized attacking militias or made efforts to protect civilian victims from attacks. Government forces provided logistic and transportation support, weapons, and ammunition to progovernment militias throughout the country."

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

Darfur: Access to justice for rape victims is hard to get ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19274]

"Authorities, particularly the police, often obstructed access to justice for rape victims (see section 5). For example, after Arab militia attacked Krenek village, in West Darfur, on January 20, local sheiks complained to police that the attackers had raped 36 women. Police responded by forcibly taking four of the women to a clinic for a medical examination and interrogated them for 10 hours; authorities charged the sheiks and the women with furnishing false information. A local court dropped the charges against the sheiks on May 27 but referred the cases against the women to the prosecutor in El Geneina. The prosecutor later told UNMIS he had no knowledge of the case.

On August 8, four civilians and one military officer raped a 13- year-old girl in South Darfur. Three of the civilian defendants confessed, while a fourth pleaded innocence; the military officer claimed that he only threatened to rape the girl, and helped the others. The prosecutor in Nyala asked the military for permission to prosecute the military officer in a civilian court, but the military had not responded to the request by year's end. According to UNMIS, authorities were considering dropping the charges against the military officer to facilitate the prosecution of the others.

No action was taken in the following 2005 rape cases: the February rape of two sisters by three armed pro-government militia men in West Darfur State; and the February 2005 cases of two female minors who were raped by progovernment militiamen.

During the year the government continued to take small steps to curb violence against women in Darfur. The government printed medical booklets for doctors detailing proper treatment of rape victims. The government also pledged to deploy 30 female police officers in South Darfur (see section 5). However, significant problems remained, including the harassment and intimidation by police of rape victims, lack of investigations into rape allegations, and the continued impunity of the police in Darfur.

During the year, there was one successful prosecution for rape in Darfur. On September 5, a court in Kabkabiya convicted a government soldier of raping an 11-year-old girl and sentenced him to five years in prison and 100 lashes."

Document(s): Open document

01.2007 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Establishment in 2005 of national tribunal to respond to crimes in Darfur had little effect on continuing impunity of militia leaders and government officials responsible for crimes against humanity ("World Report 2007") [ID 19068]

"The ruling National Congress Party made no substantive effort to investigate or
prosecute those individuals responsible for the most serious crimes in Darfur,
despite establishing a national tribunal in mid-2005 allegedly for that purpose. The
tribunal tried a handful of cases, none of them linked to the massive crimes that took
place in 2003 and 2004, and there were no meaningful investigations into the
responsibility of any individuals with command responsibility. Meanwhile senior
Sudanese officials continued to state publicly that there would be no Sudanese
cooperation with the International Criminal Court, which is investigating crimes in
Darfur following the March 2005 referral by the UN Security Council."

Document(s): Open document

27.03.2006 - Source: UN Human Rights Council (formerly UN Commission on Human Rights)

Rebel groups have taken no action to investigate crimes committed by their members ("Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; follow-up to cuontry recommendations [E/CN.4/2006/53/Add.2]") [ID 15883]

"The International Commission of Inquiry reported that the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLM/A), JEM and other rebel groups have taken no action whatsoever to investigate and repress the crimes committed by their members. The justifications offered by the rebels for such failure are either that no such crimes have been perpetrated, or else that they may have been committed by members of military units who were acting on their own and outside or beyond the instructions given by the political and military leaders.54 No reports that would change this picture have been received since release of the International Commission of Inquiry report."

Document(s): Open document

01.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Army troops committed abuses with impunity, encouraging further lawlessness ("World Report 2006") [#42306],  [ID 15612]

"The Sudanese government took no concrete steps to implement a 2004 Security Council resolution demand to disarm and disband its allies, the Janjaweed. Government militia allies, to whose abuses civil servants turned a blind eye, and army troops committed abuses with impunity, encouraging further lawlessness. In June 2005, the Sudanese government set up a tribunal, the "Special Criminial Court on Events in Darfur," purportedly to try individuals guilty of abuses. However, as of October 2005, of six cases tried by the new tribunal, none concerned major crimes associated with the conflict. No medium or high-level government officials or militia leaders were suspended from duty, investigated, or prosecuted for serious crimes in Darfur."

Document(s): Open document