Sudanese teachers demand retrial for colleague jailed for RSF links

December 6, 2025 (KOSTI) – The Sudanese Teachers’ Committee on Saturday demanded a retrial for a colleague sentenced to 20 years in prison for allegedly collaborating with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

A court in Kosti, White Nile State, handed down the sentence against Adam Idris Adam, a secondary school teacher from Khartoum’s Ombada locality, following nearly 10 months of detention.

In a statement, the committee called for a fair trial “free from identity politics, regionalism, and racism,” and urged international human rights organizations to intervene. It argued the conviction relied on weak evidence and ignored the realities of the ongoing conflict.

“These courts… only show strength against an unarmed teacher who never carried anything but his chalk,” the committee said.

Sami Al-Baqir, the committee’s spokesperson, told the Sudan Tribune that Idris had surrendered to military intelligence in Rabak last February after being accused of cooperating with the RSF.

Al-Baqir claimed Idris was targeted by “extremist groups” in the state and criticized what he described as selective justice used to intimidate citizens.

Sudanese authorities have detained thousands of people accused of RSF collaboration. Courts have issued varying verdicts in these cases, ranging from acquittals to death sentences.