UN Experts urged to intervene over protesters arrested in Sudan

November 12, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – The United Nations Experts have been urged intervene on behalf of eight Sudanese activists arrested over the killing of a member of Sudan’s military forces.

The call is part of a joint statement issued by REDRESS, the Missing Initiative and the Sudanese Defenders Centre for Legal Aid.

The protestors have reportedly been subjected to torture and are being prosecuted for crimes which carry the death penalty in an ongoing trial marked by due process violations.

Since last year’s military coup, Sudanese authorities have carried out a campaign of mass arrest and detention targeting activists, protestors, journalists, and political figures.

In June, the UN estimated that nearly 1,300 people were arrested between October 2021 and April 2022 alone, with some arrested, charged with crimes and rapidly prosecuted.

Other detainees, the group said, have been held without charge for days or even months.

The eight protestors, arrested by unidentified joint forces between March and August 2022 have reportedly been denied access to legal counsel ever since they were arrested.

The organisations urge the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and UN experts to call on Sudanese authorities to ensure immediate steps are taken to prevent further torture or ill-treatment of those detained.

They further demanded that any evidence obtained by torture or other ill-treatment is excluded from criminal proceedings in accordance with Sudan’s international legal obligations.

(ST)