Investigation needed into shooting at Ardamata prison, West Darfur; overcrowding and poor health conditions

(21 February 2014) The Sudanese authorities must investigate the death of one prisoner and serious injuries sustained by four others at Ardamata prison, West Darfur, following the firing of live ammunition by prison guards to quell a disturbance.

At around 9am on 19 February 2014, a sentry guard reportedly sighted three prisoners attempting to escape. The guard called out a verbal warning and then fired a warning shot into the air. After hearing the warning shot, inmates reportedly gathered together and headed towards the exercise yard, shouting out grievances concerning prison conditions and throwing stones at the prison officers. The sentry guard reportedly commanded the prisoners to go back, but they did not listen. The State Director of Prisons (SDoP), whose office is nearby, approached the prison on hearing the gun-shots. On entering the prison compound he and his bodyguard were also pelted with stones by the inmates. Police and military support was called into the prison and shortly thereafter live rounds of ammunition were fired at the prisoners. Five inmates sustained gunshot wounds, and one died later the same day from his injuries:

1. Sifaldeen Omar, (m), 29 years old, died from gunshot wounds, from Mournei.
2. Muhammad Abdallah Suleiman, (m), 32 years old, wounded, from Furbaranga.
3. Jibril Ahmed Abdulkareem, (m), 28 years, seriously wounded , Elgeneina.
4. Abdallah Haroun Abdu, (m), 27 years old, wounded, from Habila.
5. Hamid Khalil Koukab, (m), 40 years old, wounded, from El-Geneina.

The injured persons were transferred to a military hospital nearby to Ardamata Prison for treatment. A prison officer, Essam Ahmed Alhassan, (m), 36 years old, was also taken to hospital, having been beaten by inmates.

Background

Inmates at Ardamata Prison have reportedly made a number of unanswered complaints to the State Director of Prisons (SDoP) over recent weeks concerning conditions at the detention facility.  Inmates have complained of overcrowding, delays in meal times, ill-treatment and beatings by prison officers. Prisoners have also raised serious complaints about health conditions in the facility and a general lack of appropriate medical care and facilities. Specific complaints were made about the lack of response by the prison authorities to an outbreak of scabies two weeks ago. Immediately following the disturbance on 19 February, a medical officer was sent to the prison and diagnosed 35 inmates with an infectious skin condition. 23 prisoners were diagnosed with scabies and 12 others with chicken pox.

Ardamata prison is severely overcrowded and currently holds 270 inmates in five rooms, each measuring 4×8 meters. The prison is located on the site of a former ammunition store built by the British during colonial rule in 1944. It has been used as a prison post-independence but has not been allocated a sufficient budget for appropriate refurbishment. The prison is currently served by one medical assistant who reportedly does not have access to appropriate medical equipment or medication. The SDoP reportedly made a request to the Ministry of Health in 2013 for funds to purchase medication and appoint a medical officer for the facility but was informed that the request fell outside of the mandate of the Ministry.

Since 2010 the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) rule of law section has been mandated to work closely with the prison management in Darfur to improve general prison conditions. Since then, prison officers at Ardamata have received training from UNAMID on human rights, gender sensitization and international standards for the treatment of prisoners.

Under the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, security forces may only use lethal force when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) calls on the Sudanese authorities to:

–       Immediately investigate the circumstances surrounding the disturbance at Ardamata prison on 19 February and in particular the circumstances leading to the leading to the death of one inmate and gun-shot injuries sustained by four others, ensuring that the investigation is conducted in line with international human rights standards, such as the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.

–       Review the practices of law-enforcement officials inside Sudanese prisons to ensure that instructions given to them are consistent with international human rights standards, and that they are provided with adequate training in this regard.

–       Address the grievances raised by prisoners at Ardamata, including allegations of beatings and other ill-treatment, overcrowding and a lack of appropriate health care. Similar grievances raised across Sudan’s prisons should be addressed, and appropriate independent complaint mechanisms established.

Contact: Osman Hummaida, Executive Director, African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) in London on +44 7956 095738 or e-mail info@acjps.org.

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