20 protesting youths imprisoned in North Darfur

El Fasher Criminal Court has sentenced 20 young people to six months in prison against the backdrop of a demonstration in one of the city districts last week.

The court issued the sentence against the protesters who had participated in a rally southeast of El Fasher, El Wihda district, under the currently active emergency measures in the state.

The twenty convicted youths have been transferred to Shala prison. A relative of one of them told Radio Dabanga that the administration of Shala prison has refused to accept two of the convicts for their serious health conditions after beatings by the security apparatus.

“The security service holds other young people in detention,” the relative pointed out.

Last week, a joint force of the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese security apparatus (NISS) surrounded El Wihda district with dozens of vehicles when a protest took place there. Radio Dabanga reported at the time that a woman student was injured.

The joint force arrested more than 60 people, most of whom were young people, and transferred a number of them to the headquarters where a number of them was reportedbly beaten and tortured.

Days later, two university students were killed when security forces dispersed a crowd of protesters in Atbara in River Nile state on December 21.