{"id":171913,"date":"2020-12-22T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dabangasudan.preview.websight.nl\/start-of-investigations-on-sudan-s-june-3rd-massacre\/"},"modified":"2023-03-10T11:45:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T10:45:48","slug":"start-of-investigations-on-sudan-s-june-3rd-massacre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/start-of-investigations-on-sudan-s-june-3rd-massacre","title":{"rendered":"Start of investigations on Sudan\u2019s June 3 Massacre with members of Sovereign Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, the independent national commission of inquiry into the violent dispersal of protesters at the sit-in in front of the Sudanese army command in Khartoum on June 3, 2019, causing the death of at least 127 demonstrators, started its in-person questioning of the military members of the Sovereign Council. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Headed by prominent lawyer and human rights defender Nabil Adib, the commission questioned Lt Gen Yasir El Ata, member of the Sovereignty Council, for two hours in the presence of leading members of the commission.<\/p>\n

The commission was formed in September 2019 <\/a>on the request of PM Abdallah Hamdok. In October, the names of the committee members were announced, and investigations started.<\/p>\n

Though the work of the commission has been delayed <\/a>because of the coronavirus lockdown in the country, earlier this year, the testimonies of more than 3,000 witnesses have been heard so far. The about 150 video recordings the committee received from protestors and other people present at the sit-in on June 3, are still being studied.<\/p>\n

Lt Gen Shamseldin Kabashi, member of the Council and former member of the Transitional Military Council ruling Sudan at the time of the massacre, has reportedly already been summoned as well.<\/p>\n

Court cases<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sudan\u2019s Chief Justice and veteran Sudanese Supreme Court Judge\u00a0Nemat Abdallah<\/a>\u00a0confirmed that the cases of three killed protestors, Ahmed El Kheir<\/a>,\u00a0Hanafi Abdelshakour,\u00a0and Ashraf El Tayeb, have been brought to court.<\/p>\n

In her address to protestors in front of the judicial authority, who included the families of martyrs and dozens of Resistance Committees and activists, she said that she had supervised the formation of special court constellation composed of the best judges in the country to try those accused of killing the martyrs.<\/p>\n

The families demanded the Special Courts for Martyrs\u2019 Cases to speed up the remaining investigations and trials. They explained that the Public Prosecutor informed them that the reason for the delay in trials was because the authorities did not cooperate in lifting the immunities of the accused.<\/p>\n

Last month<\/a>, the\u00a0father of Abdelsalam Kasha, a protestor killed during the uprising, denounced \u201cimmunity enjoyed by the government forces,\u201d explaining that \u201cit hinders retribution and is devoted to impunity\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another reason for the delays is the fact that Attorney General Tajelsir El Hibir\u00a0suspended and detained<\/a>\u00a0multiple public prosecutors after they submitted a memorandum to the Sovereign Council accusing El Hibir of committing \u201cgrave breaches that amount to criminal offences\u201d and demanding his resignation.<\/p>\n

Among the suspended and detained prosecutors were those dealing with the most important prosecution files, including cases of the June 3 Massacre.<\/p>\n

Abdallah explained that she had not yet received any of the cases of the martyrs from the June sit-in or any cases related to crimes and violations in Darfur and South Kordofan.<\/p>\n

She did explain that the case of Ahmed El Kheir<\/a> has reached the Supreme Court after passing the Court of Appeal and\u00a0is one enforcement away from a final verdict.<\/p>\n

The mother of El Fateh El Nimeir, “martyr number 16”, said that the people accused of killing her son have not been handed over by the security appartus and that their immunity has not been lifted.<\/p>\n

Representatives of the December Revolution also addressed the protestors, explaining that their cases are still pending.<\/p>\n

June 3 Massacre<\/strong><\/p>\n

On April 6, 2019, protestors staged a\u00a0sit-in in Khartoum to pressure the then ruling\u00a0dictator\u00a0Omar Al Bashir to step down. Five days later, the dictator was deposed in a military coup. The protestors, however,\u00a0continued occupying the space in front of the Defence Ministry, calling on the military\u00a0to hand over\u00a0power to a civilian government.<\/p>\n

Two months later, on June 3,\u00a0the people at the sit-in were\u00a0attacked by government forces<\/a>. The attacks\u00a0cost the life of 127 demonstrators<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0bout 700 protesters and others present at the sit-in that day were injured. More than 100 people\u00a0went missing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to medics, 83 per cent of the victims of the revolution\u00a0were killed after the ousting of Al Bashir on April 11<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An\u00a0investigation report<\/a>\u00a0of the Sudanese Archive and the Human Rights Center Investigation Lab UC Berkeley states that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other security forces are responsible for the violent dispersal of sit-ins across Khartoum.<\/p>\n

This year, Sudan\u2019s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok called the June 3 massacre \u201ca criminal act<\/a>\u00a0against the Sudanese people for which the perpetrators must be held accountable\u201d.<\/p>\n

Course correction<\/strong><\/p>\n

This Saturday marked the second anniversary of the December 2018 revolution. During marches and celebrations, people demanded the correction of the course of the revolution.<\/p>\n

In a forum of the Sudan News Agency (SUNA), El Sir Kasha, representative of the Association of the December Revolution Martyrs’ Families, called for the\u00a0committee investigating<\/a>\u00a0June 3 Massacre\u00a0to\u00a0publish its results<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cThe perpetrators should be immediately brought to justice\u201d, he urged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe streets do not betray,\u201d\u00a0Kasha\u00a0said. \u201cThe revolution has deviated from its course and corrections must be made.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called for a mandate of the revolution\u2019s government over state resources, and the establishment of a Legislative Council without partisan quotas.<\/p>\n

This year, the Teachers Union also\u00a0demanded\u00a0the correction of the course of the revolution<\/a>,\u00a0along with the Association of the December Revolution Martyrs’ Families.<\/p>\n

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