Observatory for Human Rights: 3k+ detained in Sudan’s El Gezira state amid widespread violations

The Sudanese Observatory for Human Rights has documented the detention of 3,300 people in the cities of Wad Madani, El Hasahisa and Rafaa in Sudan’s El Gezira state, amid widespread violations. In a report seen by Radio Dabanga, the Observatory pointed to the deployment of detention centres in the localities of El Managil, Wad Madani, El Hasahisa, and East El Gezira (Rifaa), in conjunction with the escalation of violations committed by multiple security and military bodies, including the Security Cell, Military Intelligence, Joint Forces, Sudan Shield Forces, and the “El Baraoun” group.

The Observatory confirmed that the period between April 15, 2023 and September 2025 witnessed an unprecedented rise in the number of detainees, as the city of Wad Madani is the most affected, as the number of detainees exceeded three thousand people, the majority of whom were political activists, members of resistance committees, and volunteers in emergency rooms, in addition to arrests of an ethnic nature. The report also indicated that 950 files were transferred to the courts, in which harsh sentences were issued ranging from many years in prison, life imprisonment, to execution. Fewer than 150 women have been charged with trumped-up charges related to “cooperation.” The Observatory also documented 160 cases of forced confessions extracted under torture.

Widespread Violations

The report explained that the violations included cruel torture, degrading treatment, and detention in inhumane conditions. At the “Sur” factory detention centre in the city of Hasahisa, more than 230 people, including women and children, were detained without separation from adults, a flagrant violation of children’s rights.

In the city of Rifa’a, more than 70 people were detained in a room of no more than 6×8 meters, where they were subjected to starvation and constant beatings. As for the detention centres, the detainees witnessed physical liquidations, torture, and complete deprivation of human dignity, with cemeteries allocated to victims of torture and poor health care.

Corruption and bribes

The Observatory has monitored the spread of financial corruption in detention centres, where some detainees are released in exchange for exorbitant bribes. For example, the families of detainees pay at least five million Sudanese pounds for a sham Sudan Shield “affiliation certificate” to be used before the court, while at least eight million pounds are requested for release from the security cell headquarters.

The report also documented cases of enforced disappearances, liquidations inside detention centres, and rape crimes, especially in civil society, in addition to the continued torture, starvation, and widespread violations of detainees’ right to a fair trial.

Notable victims

The Observatory pointed out that the citizen Khaled Hassan Awad El Jaid (Wad El Libi), a young man from the village of Um Marhi, was arrested in El Managil before Ramadan 2024 without any charges, and then his family was informed of his death after Eid El Fitr, without providing a medical report or an official explanation. The data indicate that he died under torture, as a result of medical negligence or an extrajudicial murder.

The Observatory also considered the continued detention of the well-known writer, historian, and radio personality Khaled Beheiri (70 years old) as a blatant example of arbitrary detention. He explained that the General Intelligence Service arrested him in January 2025 from his home in Wad Madani without a legal warrant and held him secretly for three months before transferring him to notorious prisons, where his health deteriorated as a result of the conditions of detention and his denial of treatment. The Observatory confirmed that Beheiri’s arrest comes as part of a campaign that targeted civil activists and independents, noting that he had previously been arrested twice by accepted the RSF, reflecting a recurring pattern of repression and abuses from all parties to the conflict.

Urgent Invitation

The report concluded that what is happening in Gezira state represents a systematic pattern of grave violations of international humanitarian law. The Observatory called for urgent action for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained, the opening of independent investigations to hold those involved in torture, killing, and enforced disappearances accountable, and the provision of legal and medical support to detainees, and the protection of civilians from systematic abuses.

Last December, the Observatory published an extensive report on violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces against civilians in the state, including extrajudicial killings, arrests, looting, sexual assaults, and direct targeting of medical and relief personnel. The new report aims to highlight the persistence of violations by other parties to the conflict, including the armed forces and various security agencies, the Observatory said, stressing the need to protect human rights without selectivity and to hold all those involved accountable.