Sudan: Authorities must put in place adequate measures to protect detainees from the spread of covid-19

(2 September 2021) African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) is deeply concerned about the potential impact that COVID-19 could have on the already vulnerable thousands of detainees across Sudan; authorities must come up with a solution to contain the outbreak. We call on the transitional Government to develop a comprehensive plan to prevent and respond to a COVID-19 outbreak in detention facilities across Sudan. Measures taken must protect both the physical and mental health of detainees.

According to the World Health Organisation, the Covid-19 pandemic has shown how important it is to guarantee the Right to health care in detention facilities. Overcrowded conditions that may be unhygienic and poorly ventilated, together with stressful environments and, in some cases, the poor nutritional status of individuals, can make COVID-19 an even more dangerous disease for people in prison.

The condition of prisons and detention Centres across Sudan remains the same as during al Bashir’s regime. ACJPS monitoring reports indicate that prisons are overcrowded, making physical distancing, one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of covid-19, nearly impossible. They are unsanitary with inadequate medical facilities. They lack adequate professional health practitioners without necessary medical equipment, personal protective gear, infrared thermometers, testing kits, and sanitisers. Detainees with severe health conditions are referred to Military and Police hospitals.

The Sudanese government Covid-19 awareness campaign that began in March 2020 focuses mainly on civilians rather than those in detention. The only efforts by Sovereign Council to protect detainees has been the release of 4,633 prisoners from overcrowded prisons all over the country, hosting more than 21000 detainees. UNICEF reported  that 883 children were also released from reformatory centres across the country.

But the release of detainees did not appear enough to prevent contamination in prisons as it provoked mutiny in some prisons. ACJPS documented an attempted escape in Shala prison in Darfur that left at least one person killed and eleven others injured following a failed request by prisoners to be released. In Kassala prison, prisoners rioted as they demanded release amidst a surge in Covid-19 cases among the prison population in Eastern Sudan. Inmates in Port Sudan prison joined in the riots, and at least one inmate was shot dead whilst four got injured.

Covid-19 pandemic has placed a light on the urgent necessity to reform the penitentiary system in Sudan. On 30 August 2021, ACJPS and the World Organisation Against Torture  called on authorities to take all the appropriate measures to improve the conditions of detention particularly in the dire situation of Covid-19. On 25 March 2020, the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture called on governments in response to COVID-19 to “reduce prison populations and other detention populations wherever possible.” This should include releasing people who should not be in custody, such as those detained without charge, arbitrarily detained, or detained for offences that are not liable for criminalisation.

Obligations under international treaties ratified by Sudan that protect persons in detention are especially crucial now. The provision of health care for prisoners is a State responsibility under the Nelson Mandela Rules. It provides that“Prisoners should enjoy the same standards of health care that are available in the community, and should have access to necessary healthcare services free of charge without discrimination on the grounds of their legal status.” Thus, the deployments of personal protective equipment, essential medical equipment and medicines, and training for prison health care workers as part of the overall effort to respond to the pandemic are paramount.

ACJPS calls on the transitional Government to review the conditions of detention centres across the country to ensure it meets the minimum standards set by international treaties to which Sudan is a party. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Internal affairs, the office of the Attorney General should urgently come up with a health plan that guarantees the safety and well-being of all detainees amidst the outbreak of COVID-19. Authorities should adopt the guidelines set by the World Health Organization to prevent and control COVID-19 in prisons and other places of detention.

We further urge authorities to: –

• Free prisoners on pre-trial detention and those with underlying health conditions to decongest the prisons and help to protect prisoners and staff from the COVID-19. The Prisoners that are detained arbitrarily without charge should also be released.
• Guarantee access to healthcare and sanitation products in all detention facilities
• Carry out mass vaccination in all detention facilities
• And observe the human rights of all detainees during this pandemic. Authorities should balance the protection of inmates and staff from the virus with needs for family visits and the Right to access a lawyer.

Background

According to the World Health Organization, Sudan has registered 37,708 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 2,791 deaths as of 30 August 2021. A report from the Sudanese Minister for Health office indicates that Sudan has documented several instances of COVID-19 in prisons and other detention centres across the country. 829, 682 vaccines administered  so far do not include people in detention.  Several prisoners including the leader of al Bashir’s ousted National Congress party Sharif Omar Badr have succumbed to the pandemic.

For further information, contact Mossaad Mohamed Ali at: mossaad.ali@acjps.org