Sudan’s justice system is facing growing scrutiny after the public prosecutor defended adherence to “international standards” while reports continue to document arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial abuses by forces aligned with General al-Burhan’s army (SAF).
Public Prosecutor Intisar Abdel Aal said her office remains committed to legal timelines in investigations, describing them as a “fundamental guarantee” of detainees’ rights and constitutional freedoms.
But parallel accounts from rights groups and survivors paint a starkly different picture.
Detention facilities run by military intelligence, armed groups, and allied militias — including the Al-Bara’ bin Malik Brigade — have effectively become “black holes” where civilians disappear, according to multiple reports.
Arrests are frequently carried out outside the authority of prosecutors or police, often based on ethnic identity, political affiliation, or mere suspicion of ties to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Detainees are routinely denied basic legal protections, including access to lawyers, contact with families, or appearance before a judge, and are held in inhumane conditions.
Despite this, Abdel Aal said achieving justice requires overcoming legal and technical obstacles, adding that her office is working to streamline procedures to ensure the judicial process functions effectively.
During a visit to Omdurman Prison, the prosecutor praised prison authorities for what she described as “significant efforts” to improve detention conditions, saying the facility reflected a commitment to international legal and humanitarian standards.
She added that preserving detainees’ dignity and ensuring adequate conditions are central to ongoing judicial reform efforts coordinated with police and judicial bodies.
However, field reports and survivor testimonies describe widespread use of torture, including severe beatings, electric shocks, and deprivation of food and medical care. In areas controlled by armed factions and mobilised militias, activists, aid workers, and volunteers — particularly those involved in emergency response rooms — have reportedly been targeted, accused of treason or acting as “sleeper cells.”
Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday that security and military forces linked to General al-Burhan’s SAF have arbitrarily detained civilians, subjected them to torture and other ill-treatment, and denied them fair trial rights in areas under their control.
According to the group, civilians have been detained on allegations of cooperating with the RSF, particularly in territories recaptured by the SAF, often solely on the basis of ethnicity, perceived political affiliation, or humanitarian work.
Unlawful detention, abuse, and torture of civilians may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law, the organisation warned.
