Darfur Crimes Court sentences a child rapist to death

November 30, 2016 (NYALA) – Darfur Crimes Court in the capital of South Darfur State on Wednesday has issued a death penalty against a member of regular forces after being convicted of raping a young girl in Nyala.

The defendant raped the young girl at gunpoint. The medical report and other evidence were strong enough to convict the defendant, the court said.

It was not clear if the sentenced military was member of the army or the police.

A police source pointed to the strikingly increase in child sexual abuse recently reported to the local security forces, saying it was unusual in the region.

A local official told Sudan Tribune the ”creation of a special children’s court will help to speed the legal proceedings, especially the Children’s Act includes servers sanctions designed to protect children and dissuade those who may dare to commit crimes against them”.

The official source who declined to be identified stressed on the need to accelerate the establishment of a forensic laboratory in Nyala to collect and analyze scientific evidences in support of law enforcement .

He went to call on families to immediately report any crimes against children, saying there is a need to put an end to the phenomenon of infant rape by issuing harsher punishment for the perpetrators.

Rights groups issued several reports about women rape and sexual violence in Darfur region perpetrated by government militiamen.

The most reported cases occur around the peripheries of IDP camps as women go out of the camps the collect firewood.

The Sudanese authorities say the Darfur crimes courts would help to restore the law and bring peace in the troubled region.

(ST)