Sudan Flag from UXWing
In the last few weeks, dozens of lawyers, doctors, and activists have been detained, tortured, and killed around Sudan by both fighting parties, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). During this period, arbitrary arrests intensified in the country. ISHR and other NGOs reitaerate their pressing demand for justice and protection of life.
The whereabouts of hundreds of detainees are unknown, as they remain at risk of torture, unfair trials, and execution. Lawyers in different states face unprecedented crackdowns impacting the detainees’ right to legal aid. Civic space, communications networks, and access to humanitarian services have been curtailed.
We call on the warring parties to cease fire immediately and facilitate humanitarian aid, justice, and honour human rights. The international community must demand an end to violence, facilitate protection, pursue justice mechanisms, and support local humanitarian efforts.
Background
The Sudanese Sovereign Council reinstated the Sudanese National Security Laws last May, specifically, the infamous laws used by the former regime to suppress civic freedoms and punish human rights activists. The law was suspended following the 2018 revolution that toppled the former regime. Several local state governors issued emergency decrees granting arrest and interrogation authority to joint forces created following the war. The joint forces include military intelligence, police, and national security. The de facto government in Port Sudan escalated its activities following the powers vested with joint forces in the areas under the SAF’s control.
Some of the lawyers, activists, volunteers, and journalists detained and tortured have been subjected to unfair trials and received either imprisonment sentences of two years or more or execution. The RSF has detention centres within their areas of control around Sudan, where thousands of civilians and activists have been detained for months. Detainees inside RSF areas are facing execution, torture, and inhumane treatment. The militia continues to target and kill doctors, journalists, and activists in their areas of control.
Killing and detention by the RSF
Journalist Tarik Abdullah was arrested by the RSF in Khartoum in late May and taken to an unknown place. In different areas in Khartoum, healthcare professionals were targeted and arrested by the RSF. In the Ed Babikir area in Khartoum, the RSF arrested large numbers of residents and took them to unknown locations, where some detainees were reportedly killed following torture. The arrest campaign followed an attack on the areas, where at least seven civilians were killed. In Aljazeera state, the militia killed and arrested dozens of civilians whose whereabouts remain unknown.
In Omdurman, Ahmed Sidig, a member of the Umma Party, was arrested by the RSF for more than three weeks, and he was taken to an unknown location. Dr. Mohamed Elhassan Muslam was killed following a raid on his house on 16 July by the RSF. In Alhalba village, west of Eldowaim city in White Nile state, the RSF killed Dr. Anas Abduallah while on duty following a raid on the hospital. Dr. Abd Alhamid Toufiq has been detained by the RSF inside Suba prison since November 2023. He was the medical director of Jabal Awlya Hospital and was arrested during an RSF attack on the area.
Mass arrests in SAF Control Areas
In the Blue Nile state, journalist Sidig Dallai has been detained for more than two months by military intelligence. He was arrested following a social media post in solidarity with an activist killed inside a military intelligence detention center in Aljazeera state last April. Salah Altayeb, a volunteer and member of the Congress Party, died under torture inside another military intelligence detention centre in Alazazy. He was buried on 17 April, and his family was not informed.
In Algadref city of eastern Sudan in early May, security forces arrested three volunteers providing support services to internally displaced persons for the second time in three weeks. Local authorities charged two detainees under the information law. Although they were arrested in April, Ziad and Hassan’s whereabouts are still unknown. Detainees have had limited access to legal aid and no access to family visits since they were arrested. In Algadref and following the attack on Sennar state, locals reported the arrest of men on a street near the city market. Detainees were primarily young men and were taken to unknown locations.
The authorities in River Nile state conducted a mass wave of arrests to detain activists and lawyers. On 23 June, in River Nile state, lawyer Amal Alzain was detained for three days. She reported maltreatment and was denied access to both her family and prescribed medicines. Her husband Awad Bayen, also a lawyer, was detained on 26 June and remains in detention. Journalist Abu Agla Amasa was arrested in Shendi by military intelligence and was taken to an unknown location in addition to Dr. Osman Bashir on 16 July, whose location remains unknown.
In White Nile state, lawyer Mohmoud Jarad was detained by the Sudanese Army Intelligence on 9 June and taken to an unknown location. At least four other lawyers were detained, and some of their offices were raided during the last few weeks. The authorities also led another vicious campaign against lawyers in Rabak and Kosty cities in the White Nile state. Family members were threatened and detained on several occasions.
Meanwhile, in Uganda, Sudanese authorities denied the renewal of travel documents for Hanan Hassan, an Emergency Lawyers’ group member. The embassy in Uganda informed Hassan that she was denied renewal due to a decision made by the general prosecutor in Port Sudan.
On 8 July, the Army Intelligence arrested lawyer Abd Alrahim Jumaa in Alnohod city in North Kordofan state. Umma party members were detained in Aljazeera, Sennar, and the River Nile state. In some incidents in Sennar and the River Nile state, the Army Intelligence arrested family members as hostages to ensure the surrender of political party members.
Following these atrocities, we reiterate the following demands to the warring parties, States, and the international community:
The warring parties:
States and the international community:
Signatories:
On 5 and 6 May 2025, during its 83rd Ordinary Session, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) held the second joint forum of its special mechanisms. It serves as an opportunity to bring actors from various backgrounds to discuss the possibility of converging human rights and sustainable development for the benefit of Africans.
At the 83rd ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, held in Banjul (The Gambia) from 2 May to 22 May, ISHR delivered an oral statement calling for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the continuation of the process toward a human rights defenders protection law in Zambia, reparations for Africans and people of African descent, and a binding treaty on environmental rights in Africa.
On 3 May 2025, on the sidelines of the 83rd ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ISHR co-sponsored a side event on the situation of human rights defenders in the Sahel, organised by the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organisation against Torture.
