African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies ACJPS | المركز الافريقي لدراسات العدالة و السلام
(27 July 2012) The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) is concerned for the safety of hundreds of individuals who have been detained as a result of a government crackdown in response to popular protests that have taken place throughout Sudan since 16 June 2012, calling for regime change, freedom, peace and justice.
In a report published today, ACJPS documents how police and the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) have used excessive force to disperse and arrest protestors, including the reported use of rubber bullets, tear gas and beatings with sticks and rubber batons.
Since 16 June, ACJPS has received disturbing reports, on a daily basis, of the arbitrary arrest and detention, ill-treatment and torture of individuals involved or suspected of being involved in the protests.
The report documents the testimonies of individuals who have been released and reported their experiences of detention to ACJPS. It also provides the names of 102 individuals who remain in detention and at risk of torture in NISS custody, on account of their involvement, or presumed involvement in the protests. In the overwhelming majority of cases documented by ACJPS, the detainees have been held in the custody of NISS without charge or access to lawyers or family visits.
NISS has targeted individuals suspected of leading or coordinating the protests within the youth movements and opposition political parties, as well as human rights defenders, journalists and others monitoring and reporting on the government response to the protests.
ACJPS is concerned, in light of estimates from activists and reports received from detainees who have been subsequently released, that the number of individuals who remain in detention and at risk of torture is in the hundreds.
Read full report here.
Contact: Osman Hummaida, Executive Director of the African Centre For Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)
Phone: +44-7956-095738 (UK)
Email: osman@acjps.org
This post is also available in: Arabic
