Death sentence in Port Sudan highlights crackdown on RSF sympathizers

October 4, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – A Sudanese court has sentenced a man to death for supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), state media reported on Friday, underscoring the escalating legal crackdown on perceived opponents in areas under military control.

The man, identified only as M.J.M., was convicted of “cooperating with rebel forces, undermining the constitutional system, and inciting war against the state,” the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) said. Another man, E.H.N., received a 10-year sentence in the same case.

The general court judge presided over the court in Port Sudan and delivered the verdict on Thursday. This ruling aligns with a trend of swift trials and severe punishments, including death sentences and life imprisonment, handed down against individuals accused of aiding the RSF.

However, this pattern of convictions has been challenged. In July, an appeals court in Ad-Damir overturned a death sentence against a young woman accused of collaborating with the RSF.

The ongoing conflict between the army and the RSF has fueled a wave of prosecutions, with authorities increasingly utilizing the judicial system to target those perceived as sympathetic to the paramilitary group. In September, a court in Dongola sentenced 17 RSF fighters and one civilian to death for an attack on Merowe airport at the start of the conflict.

These cases raise concerns about due process and the potential for politically motivated prosecutions amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis and widespread human rights abuses triggered by the conflict.