{"id":20118479,"date":"2025-07-15T17:57:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T15:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20118479"},"modified":"2025-07-15T17:59:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T15:59:23","slug":"sudan-media-forum-arbitrary-detentions-and-social-media-incitement-undermine-rule-of-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/sudan-media-forum-arbitrary-detentions-and-social-media-incitement-undermine-rule-of-law","title":{"rendered":"Sudan Media Forum: \u2018Arbitrary detentions and social media incitement undermine rule of law\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sudan Media Forum<\/a>\u00a0– Joint Editorial Room<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compiled by\u00a0Sudanile<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A displaced man from Omdurman has spent over three months in arbitrary detention in Northern State, after being accused without evidence in what his family says was a politically motivated campaign on social media, according to Sudanile<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essam Abdelrahman, a pseudonym used for security reasons, was stopped by the\u00a0Sudanese Armed Forces\u2019 intelligence<\/a>\u00a0on 23 March 2024 while driving in Ed Debba, where his family had resettled after fleeing the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officers verbally accused him of \u201csupplying the [paramilitary]\u00a0Rapid Support Forces<\/a>\u00a0(RSF) with fuel\u201d but produced no arrest warrant or evidence. His family believes the accusation stemmed from an anonymous tip-off likely linked to the \u201cReport a Collaborator\u201d campaign on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe had no political or military involvement,\u201d Essam’s sister told\u00a0Sudanile<\/em>. \u201cHe was just trying to rebuild his life after being displaced. Then suddenly, he was accused,\u00a0arrested<\/a>, and we weren\u2019t allowed to visit or even find out where he was being held.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the family\u2019s efforts to hire a lawyer and consult official detainee lists, Essam\u2019s name has never appeared. His whereabouts remain unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Social media accusations turn into arrests\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sudanile<\/em> reviewed content from Facebook pages including \u201cReport a Collaborator\u201d and \u201cReport a Civil Collaborator,\u201d which publish names and photos of civilians allegedly cooperating with the RSF, calling on security forces to \u201ctake the necessary action\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observers say these pages\u00a0incite political and social targeting<\/a>\u00a0without due process. Emergency lawyers warn the campaigns violate the presumption of innocence and have already resulted in\u00a0arbitrary detentions<\/a>\u00a0and killings, often based on residence or tribal affiliation, rather than evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018A war with no rules\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Ibrahim Kabashi, professor of political science, told Sudanile<\/em>: \u201cWhat we\u2019re living through now is a daily hunt, with people constantly being reclassified based on shifting accusations. These descriptions are pushed by different actors to serve political or social agendas. The war is no longer in the hands of the parties, anyone with an agenda can influence the field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cPeople are forced to choose between safety and hunger, between survival and being seen as\u00a0loyal to whoever controls their area<\/a>. These are not choices made from belief; they\u2019re imposed by necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kabashi said the war has militarised Sudanese society with no checks or balances. \u201cInformation is being weaponised to settle scores, political, personal, even sports related. People are judged based on past impressions or personal grudges. As hate speech rises, the rule of law has collapsed, and trust in the judiciary is gone. Repression is now extending far beyond the frontlines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018No legal foundation\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohamed Salah, a lawyer with the Emergency Lawyers Authority, said the campaign was not launched by any formal institution. \u201cIt came from army supporters on social media. Civilians are stuck between two forces, the RSF, which is tightening control, and army loyalists who accuse them without proof.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese accusations have no legal basis,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re used as an excuse to detain or even\u00a0eliminate people<\/a>\u00a0without trial.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salah added: \u201cIn army-controlled areas, what\u2019s happening can\u2019t be called fair trials. Dozens of people are arrested without access to lawyers or timely court appearances. Some have been locked up for more than a year with no hearing, a clear violation of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Risk to the social fabric\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political analyst Mohamed Turshin warned the campaign has become a serious threat to Sudan\u2019s community cohesion. \u201cLabelling entire groups as collaborators with one side of the war\u00a0fuels tribal divisions<\/a>\u00a0and could spark revenge cycles that spiral out of control, especially with the state so weak and the legal system in ruins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat these campaigns are telling the world is bleak,\u201d he said. \u201cSudan is being seen as a country where justice and institutions have collapsed, and war is being run through Facebook pages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All three experts called for the immediate restoration of judicial institutions, an end to incitement, and guarantees of due process and fair trials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sudan Media Forum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This article, prepared by\u00a0Sudanile<\/em>\u00a0and published by the\u00a0Sudan Media Forum<\/a>\u00a0and its member institutions, sheds light on how social media incitement is being used in the absence of state institutions to carry out politically motivated arrests and fuel hate speech.<\/p>\n