Sudan prison shakedown: 49 injured as convicts clash with guards

At least 49 convicts were injured during a clash with guards at El Huda prison in Sudan’s second-largest city of Omdurman on Tuesday.

According to sources who spoke to Radio Dabanga from El Huda prison, the incident erupted when the new prison director, Maj. Gen. Badrein Sharif, ordered a personal inspection of the inmates together with an inspection of their luggage.

One of the officers in charge of the inspection in the prisons third section reportedly “harshly insulted the inmates” during the inspection, which prompted them to clash with the guards.

“At least 14 of them were seriously injured during torture and beating carried out by the soldiers in charge.

The sources said that the guards managed to stop the inmates, who are all serving sentences for drug offences, or on death row, were charged with incitement. The injured have been transferred to hospital.

The sources said that the snap inspections netted mobile phones, and more than SDG 50,000 ($7,500) in cash was confiscated.

El Huda prison accommodates about 5,800 prisoners in which the drug department includes 1,200 to 1,500 inmates. About 300 of those have been sentenced to death.

The sources described the situation in the prison as tense.