Map of the Greater Khartoum Area
Summary
Following an attack on May 10, 2008 by rebel forces on Omdurman—one of the three towns that form the Sudanese capital Khartoum—the Sudanese authorities arbitrarily arrested hundreds of men, women and children. Many were subjected to torture and “disappearance.” The authorities also intensified censorship of the media and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders.
A Human Rights Watch investigation in May 2008 found that over the four weeks following the attack by the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) arrested hundreds of individuals, who were picked up on buses, on the streets or during house-to-house searches. The majority was, or appeared to be, from Sudan’s Darfur region, indicative of a discriminatory intent.
During the course of our investigation, Human Rights Watch obtained the names of more than 200 individuals currently in detention, with some former detainees claiming that the total may be as high as 3,000. Released detainees told Human Rights Watch of the security services’ use of torture and mistreatment of detainees and of inhumane conditions in prisons and secret detention centers. Eyewitnesses have reported the deaths of at least ten people in detention from ill-treatment and poor conditions. In a large number of cases the Sudanese government has provided no information on the identities of individuals arrested, their whereabouts or the charges against them—a practice that amounts to an enforced disappearance in violation of international law.
Persecution of journalists and human rights defenders has also increased in the aftermath of May 10. The NISS have increased censorship of Sudanese media and harassment of journalists. Authorities have prevented newspapers from publishing articles that are seen as critical of the government, including its role in May 10 events and the ongoing arrests, as well as other topics the authorities consider politically sensitive.
The Sudanese government practices constitute serious violations of international human rights law, which prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and other mistreatment of prisoners, and enforced disappearances. Human Rights Watch calls on the Sudanese government to end all torture and mistreatment of detainees, to promptly release all detainees for whom there is no legal basis for detention or charge them with a legally cognizable offense, and to inform the relatives of each detainee of their whereabouts, condition, and the charges against them. Those charged should be tried before courts that meet international fair trial standards. The government should also end censorship of the media and the harassment of journalists and human rights defenders. Human Rights Watch also calls on the international community to press the Sudanese government to account for the whereabouts of all detainees, and promptly charge or release them.