Sudan strengthens intelligence service powers

May 10, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudanese authorities amended the General Intelligence Service (GIS) law, granting the agency broader arrest, search, and immunity powers.

The amendments reverse restrictions placed on the former National Security and Intelligence Service (NISS) by the transitional government, overthrown in the October 2021 coup.

Sudan’s Sovereign Council secretary-general, Mohamed al-Ghali, explained the new measures grant the Director of Intelligence Service and its members immunity from lawsuits and the authority to conduct arrests and searches but require written authorization from the Director.

Detention is limited to 30 days with mandatory family notification, with a possible 15-day extension for investigations. Intelligence service members also receive immunity, but lawsuits can be pursued with the Director’s approval.

Key amendments
Al-Karama newspaper, aligned with the Sudanese army, highlighted the most significant changes: preventive detention (Article 25), powers of intelligence members and the Director (Articles 29 & 37), immunity for service members and collaborators (Articles 33 & 46), prohibition of seizing commercial establishments (Article 53).

Sovereign Council leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan signed the decree amending the 2010 General Intelligence Service Law. The amended law, approved by a joint meeting of the Sovereign Council and Council of Ministers, is now in effect after publication in the Sudanese Ministry of Justice’s Official Gazette.

The amendments come amid calls to strengthen the GIS’s ability to target supporters of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF in April 2023. Additionally, the agency is expected to deter currency speculation as the Sudanese pound weakens against foreign currencies.