Student jailed for alleged RSF support, family decries wrongful conviction

November 9, 2024 (DONGOLA) – The family of a Sudanese student sentenced to five years in prison for alleged support of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is demanding his immediate release, denouncing the verdict as a miscarriage of justice.

Omer Ahmed Abdelhadi Suleiman, who was preparing to sit for his secondary school exams, was convicted on Tuesday by a court in Al Goled, Northern State, on charges including incitement, undermining the constitutional system and collaborating with enemies of the state.

“We demand the release of Omer Ahmed. He is innocent,” Ahmed Hamed Mohamed Elzaki, a relative, told Sudan Tribune. “We can provide 300 witnesses to prove his innocence.”

Elzaki said the family will appeal the verdict in Dongola on Sunday.

According to his family, Omer was detained on Oct. 10 at an army checkpoint in Al Goled while travelling from El Khowi in West Kordofan state to Dongola for his exams.

Elzaki said Omer had not left El Khowi since the outbreak of the war except once to open a bank account. He added that Omer was a registered volunteer with the army and that they had provided the court with documents to prove it, but these were ignored.

“How can someone volunteering with the army be accused of fighting with the RSF when we are all against them?” he asked.

Sudan Tribune has seen a document issued by the Popular Mobilization and Resistance Committee in West Kordofan confirming Omer’s status as a student volunteer with the army.

A separate letter from the Deputy of the Dar Hamar tribe’s paramount chief, Monim Abdel Qadir, seen by Sudan Tribune, described Omer as a “patriot” and called for his release.

Omer’s tribe, the Dar Hamar, has publicly backed the army and sent fighters to battle the RSF. The tribe has a history of conflict with the Misseriya and Rizeigat tribes, which largely support the paramilitary group.