Sudan Arbitrarily Arrested: It has come to our attention reports that, in many cases unidentified, security forces come to citizens’ homes to abduct them. In cases where citizens are found alive again, they are severely beaten and tortured. The women tell about sexual harassment.
Violations of human rights in Sudan are flowing in faster than the waters of the Nile:
Teachers and education workers peacefully protested the military coup outside the Education Ministry in Khartoum’s district of Bahri, according to the Sudanese Professionals’ Association. Security forces used tear gas and sticks to disperse the protesters and arbitrarily arrested at least 113 people.
“Mr Burhan, is this what you mean when you say you want to create order in the country?”
The military also arrested, equally arbitrary, three leaders from the Forces for Freedom and Change, a coalition that was born out of the 2019 protest movement, shortly after they met with UN officials in Khartoum. The meeting was part of UN-led mediation efforts.
Testimony by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – Michelle Bachelet
The whereabouts of most of those arrested remains unknown, and they have been held incommunicado, with no access to lawyers or their relatives – enforced disappearances compounding the gravity of their arbitrary arrests.
This disproportionate and deadly use of force by the Sudan Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces, and other security forces – including military police and intelligence elements – must end immediately. Those responsible for these and other human rights violations must be held fully accountable for their actions.
In a country where women and girls have been active leaders in the movement for democracy and human rights, many women activists have reportedly been arrested, harassed, threatened, and in many cases, beaten while participating in protests. I have also received several disturbing reports of violence against women, including the early morning raid on a female student dormitory located near the military headquarters in Khartoum on 25 October. The students were terrorized and beaten, resulting in injuries.
State security agents, usually wearing plain clothes, have also targeted key actors in the civic space. The Joint UN Human Rights Office has documented the arrests and detentions of journalists, resistance committee members, and activists.
Further contravening international human rights law, a nation-wide shutdown of the Internet has been imposed since 25 October. The shutdown has prevented the population from accessing information, including important information about services; and it has also significantly restricted the capacity of my own staff to operate.
Conclusion
General Burhan has made it very difficult for the people of Sudan with his contradictory decrees. He has declared a state of emergency and banned people from staying outside for the most part. At the same time, he lets his henchmen go into their homes and arrest them there. If you stay outside, you will be arrested. If you stay indoors, you will be arrested. This can be perceived as confusing and unconsidered.
Arbitrary arrests, arbitrary executions, arbitrary beatings, arbitrary rapes. Arbitrary seems to be the key word for Sudan’s military regime.
Mr Burhan, is this what you mean when you say you want to create order in the country?
