RSF releases four journalists and lawyer after months in detention in North Darfur

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have released four female journalists and a lawyer in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, after holding them for varying periods of time. Sources tell Radio Dabanga that the journalists, Dr Manahil Mustafa, Ishraqa Abdelrahman, Mawahib Ibrahim, and Zahra Mohamed El Hassan, were released alongside the lawyer, Magda Hassan Ali, after about six months in detention.

The journalists and lawyer were arrested after taking part in a workshop held in February that discussed women’s issues and rights.

Meanwhile, the family of El Hadi Abdelrahman, the former director general of the Ministry of Education, tells Radio Dabanga that the Rapid Support Forces have also released him after he spent more than a year and a half in Dagris prison in South Darfur.

This report follows coverage by Radio Dabanga last week that the Sudanese Journalists’ Syndicate says five of its members remain victims of enforced disappearance, with their fate and whereabouts still unknown. It describes this as a serious violation of their basic rights, international law, and their right to life and personal safety. In a statement, the syndicate calls for the immediate disclosure of the journalists’ fate and whereabouts, and for a serious, independent investigation into the circumstances of their disappearance.

Note: This report has been translated from Arabic with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools, and subsequently reviewed and adapted by a human editor before publication.