Khartoum massacre investigation

Last updated

The Khartoum massacre investigation is an official investigation of the 3 June, 2019 Khartoum massacre and other human rights violations of the Sudanese Revolution, mandated under Article 7.(16) of the Sudanese August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration, to cover "violations committed on 3 June, 2019, and events and incidents where violations of the rights and dignity of civilian and military citizens were committed." [1] [2] The men-only [3] investigation committee of the massacre, rapes [4] [5] and other human rights violations is headed by human rights lawyer Nabil Adib. [6] The No to Oppression against Women Initiative protested against the men-only composition of the commission. [3]

Contents

Background

The Khartoum massacre took place on 3 June, 2019 in the context of the Sudanese Revolution against a protestors' sit-in in Khartoum. The massacre of 118 [7] civilians and the rape of 70 women and men [4] [5] is generally attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), [8] [9] [10] under the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ("Hemetti"). [11] [12] The rapes were documented as a deliberate campaign to "break the girls" according to France 24 . [13]

The results of three different enquiries were released in late July 2019. On 27 July, Fathelrahman Saeed, the head of a committee appointed by the Attorney-General at the request of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) to investigate the massacre, stated that 87 people had been killed, 168 injured, no rapes had occurred and no tents had been burnt. Saeed stated that legal cases for crimes against humanity had been launched against eight unnamed high-ranking security officers. The report was considered "poor and defective" by citizens' groups. [14]

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) released its own report on 30 July, stating that eight rape victims were receiving psychological therapy; one in Omdurman had committed suicide as a result of the rape; one rape victim had been forced by social stigma to search for another home for her and her family. The DBA claimed that it had "ample evidence" of responsibility of the TMC for the massacre and that the "decision to disband the sit-in" took place at a meeting including all TMC members, the Attorney-General, police chiefs and security directors. [15]

The third report was that of a committee created by the National Umma Party and led by Yousef El Amin. On 30 July, El Amin stated that the sit-in was disbanded by "a large military force wearing RSF uniforms and riot police" and that the massacre had been "premeditated and planned". He stated that 47 victims of the massacre died on 3 June, with a total of 124 dying from 3 to 20 June. He confirmed rapes, throwing of bodies into the Nile, and burning of tents. [16]

The 4 August Draft Constitutional Declaration refers to the investigation in Article 7.(16) as an element of the "Mandate of the Transitional Period," defining the scope as "violations committed on 3 June, 2019, and events and incidents where violations of the rights and dignity of civilian and military citizens were committed." [1] The investigation committee is to be created under an "order" that "guarantees that it will be independent and possess full powers to investigate and determine the timeframe for its activities". [1]

Article 21 of the Draft Constitutional Declaration gives "procedural" immunity to members of the Sovereignty Council, the Cabinet, the Transitional Legislative Council, governors of provinces and heads of regions, with Article 21.(2) giving the Transitional Legislative Council the right to lift that immunity by a simple majority. [1] [2]

Commission

On 21 September, 2019, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok issued a decision to create the primary investigation commission of seven lawyers, including a Supreme Court judge, representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Defence and Interior, a "national figure" and two independent lawyers. The decision guaranteed that the committee would operate independently of any other governmental, judicial or legal body. The commission will be required to release a report with its findings within three months and can extend its mandate for another three months. [17]

Hamdok named the members of the commission on 20 October, with Nabil Adib as the head of the commission. [6] The other commission members are Osman Mohamed Osman as rapporteur, Sohaib Abdullatif as deputy rapporteur, colonel Ismat Abdalla Mohamed Taha and Ahmed El Taher El Nur and two unnamed members. [3]

Men-only commission

Ihsan Fagiri of the No to Oppression against Women Initiative protested on 22 October 2019 against the men-only nature of the commission. She stated that women should participate as commission members, since many women had been killed, raped or thrown dead into the Nile and three women rape victims had committed suicide after the massacre. [3]

Investigation

In December 2019, the commission started collecting documents, photographic and audiovisual evidence and invited witnesses to contact the commission via a secure website. [18] By December 2020, the commission had received 150 video recordings of the event and had collected testimonies from 3000 witnesses. In December 2020, the commission started questioning military members of the Sovereignty Council. Yasser al-Atta, a military member of the Sovereignty Council, was questioned for two hours by the Commission on 21 December 2020. Shams al-Din Khabbashi, another Sovereignty Council military member, was expected to be questioned. [19]

On 4 May 2021, Nabil Adib, the head of the commission, commented to Newlines Magazine that "the result could lead to a coup d'état or to mass unrest in the streets. [20]

Trials

Chief Justice Nemat Abdullah Khair stated in late December 2020 that trials for the killings of Ahmed el-Kheir, Hanafi Abdelshakour and Ashraf el-Tayeb, three protestors who were killed during events of the Sudanese Revolution other than the 3 June massacre itself, were ongoing by a "special court constellation". [19] The case for Ahmed el-Kheir resulted in the sentencing to death of 29 National Intelligence and Security Service officers, [21] with a final appeal step still pending in the Supreme Court as of December 2020. [19]

Missing persons committee

On 23 September 2019, the Attorney-General Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah created a committee of prosecutors and "representatives of the Bar Association, the police, the Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Justice, and the Unit to combat violence against women" to investigate the disappearances of the people who remained missing after the Khartoum massacre and provide a report within two months. [22] On 14 September, the citizens' group "Missing" listed 21 people missing. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of Sudan</span> Executive body of Sudan

The Cabinet of Sudan usually refers to the chief executive body of the Republic of the Sudan. The Cabinet was dissolved following the 11 April 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. Chapter 5 of the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration defines the procedures which led to the nomination of Abdalla Hamdok as Prime Minister, and up to 20 Ministers in the Cabinet, during late August 2019, for the 39-month democratic transition. The Sudanese Women's Union protested against this. Under Article 19 of the Draft Constitutional Declaration, the ministers of the Transitional Cabinet are ineligible to run in the election scheduled to follow the transition period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Criminal Court investigation in Darfur</span> Ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court investigation in Darfur or the situation in Darfur is an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into criminal acts committed during the War in Darfur. Although Sudan is not a state party to the Rome Statute, the treaty which created the ICC, the situation in Darfur was referred to the ICC's Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council in 2005. As of June 2019, five suspects remained under indictment by the court: Ahmed Haroun, Ali Kushayb, Omar al-Bashir, Abdallah Banda and Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein. Charges against Bahar Abu Garda were dropped on the basis of insufficient evidence in 2010 and those against Saleh Jerbo were dropped following his death in 2013. In mid-April 2019, Haroun, al-Bashir and Hussein were imprisoned in Sudan as a result of the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. In early November 2019, the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok stated that al-Bashir would be transferred to the ICC. One of the demands of the displaced people of Darfur visited by Hamdok prior to Hamdok's statement was that "Omar Al Bashir and the other wanted persons" had to be surrendered to the ICC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudan Revolutionary Front</span> Alliance of Sudanese rebel groups

The Sudan Revolutionary Front, or the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), is an alliance between Sudanese factions that was created in opposition to the government of President Omar al-Bashir. It was declared on 12 November 2011, following several months of support by Darfuri rebel groups for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North in the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese revolution</span> 2018–2019 protests and political upheaval

The Sudanese Revolution was a major shift of political power in Sudan that started with street protests throughout Sudan on 19 December 2018 and continued with sustained civil disobedience for about eight months, during which the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état deposed President Omar al-Bashir on 11 April after thirty years in power, 3 June Khartoum massacre took place under the leadership of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) that replaced al-Bashir, and in July and August 2019 the TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC) signed a Political Agreement and a Draft Constitutional Declaration legally defining a planned 39-month phase of transitional state institutions and procedures to return Sudan to a civilian democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese Professionals Association</span> Sudanese trade union federation

The Sudanese Professionals' Association is an umbrella association of 17 different Sudanese trade unions. The organisation started forming in October 2012, though was not officially registered due to government crackdowns on trade unions, and was created more formally in October 2016 by an alliance between unions of doctors, journalists and lawyers. In December 2018, the group called for the introduction of a minimum wage and participated in protests in Atbara against the rising cost of living. The SPA came to take an increasingly prominent role in the 2018–2019 Sudanese protests against the government of Omar al-Bashir during 2019. The organisation is also a member of the Progressive International.

The Transitional Military Council (TMC) was the military junta governing Sudan that was established on 11 April 2019, after the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état that took place during the Sudanese Revolution, and was formally headed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Inspector of the Armed Forces, after Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf resigned as leader one day following the coup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemedti</span> Sudanese military officer, former warlord and Janjaweed mercenary

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to mononymously as Hemedti, Hemetti, Hemeti, or Hemitte, is a Janjaweed leader from the Rizeigat tribe in Darfur, who was the Deputy head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) following the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. Since 2013, Hemetti has commanded the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He was considered by The Economist to be the most powerful person in Sudan as of early July 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khartoum massacre</span> 2019 mass-killing in Sudan

The Khartoum massacre occurred on 3 June 2019, when the armed forces of the Sudanese Transitional Military Council, headed by the Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah al Burhan of the Sudan Armed Forces and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the immediate successor organisation to the Janjaweed militia, used heavy gunfire and tear gas to disperse a sit-in by protestors in Khartoum, killing over 100 people, with difficulties in estimating the actual numbers. At least forty of the bodies had been thrown in the River Nile. Hundreds of unarmed civilians were injured, hundreds of unarmed citizens were arrested, many families were terrorised in their home estates across Sudan, and the RSF raped more than 70 women and men. The Internet was almost completely blocked in Sudan in the days following the massacre, making it difficult to estimate the number of victims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese transition to democracy (2019–2021)</span> Political transition following the 2019 Sudanese coup détat

A series of political agreements among Sudanese political and military forces for a democratic transition in Sudan began in July 2019. Omar al-Bashir overthrew the democratically elected government of Sadiq al-Mahdi in 1989 and was himself overthrown in the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état, in which he was replaced by the Transitional Military Council (TMC) after months of sustained street protests. Following further protests and the 3 June Khartoum massacre, TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) alliance agreed on 5 July 2019 to a 39-month transition process to return to democracy, including the creation of executive, legislative and judicial institutions and procedures.

The Darfur Bar Association is a Sudanese lawyers' organisation created in 1995. In 2020, the group received the Democracy Award for supporting marginalized people in advocating for their rights and providing legal assistance to vulnerable activists before and during protests in Sudan.

The Sudanese resistance committees or neighbourhood committees are informal, grassroots neighbourhood networks of Sudanese residents that started organising civil disobedience campaigns against the government of Omar al-Bashir in 2013 and became a major organised network playing a key role during the Sudanese Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transitional Sovereignty Council</span> Collective head of state of Sudan since 2019

The Transitional Sovereignty Council is the collective head of state of Sudan, formed on 20 August 2019, by the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration. It was dissolved by Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the October 2021 Sudanese coup d'état and reconstituted the following month with new membership, effectively changing it from a unity government to a military junta.

The Sudanese peace process consists of meetings, written agreements and actions that aim to resolve the War in Darfur, the Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, and armed conflicts in central, northern and eastern Sudan.

The 2019–2022 Sudanese protests were street protests in Sudan which began in mid-September 2019, during Sudan's transition to democracy, about issues which included the nomination of a new Chief Justice and Attorney General, the killing of civilians by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the toxic effects of cyanide and mercury from gold mining in Northern state and South Kordofan, opposition to a state governor in el-Gadarif and to show trials of Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) coordinators, and advocating the dismissal of previous-government officials in Red Sea, White Nile, and South Darfur. The protests follow the Sudanese Revolution's street protests and civil disobedience of the early September 2019 transfer of executive power to the country's Sovereignty Council, civilian prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, and his cabinet of ministers. Hamdok described the 39-month transition period as defined by the aims of the revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nabil Adib</span> Sudanese human rights lawyer

Nabil Adib Abdalla is a Sudanese human rights lawyer who was nominated on 20 October 2019 as head of the investigation commission of the 3 June Khartoum massacre that took place during the Sudanese Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No to Oppression against Women Initiative</span> Sudanese womens group active during the al-Bashir and Sudanese Revolution eras

The No to Oppression against Women Initiative, also known as the No to Women's Oppression Initiative, is a Sudanese women's rights group. The group was active during the Omar al-Bashir era and played a significant role during the 2018–2019 Sudanese Revolution.

The Sudanese National Human Rights Commission has been headed by Hurriya Ismail, appointed by former president Omar al-Bashir, since March 2018 or earlier and continued under her leadership during the 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Sudanese coup d'état</span> Military overthrow of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan

On 25 October 2021, the Sudanese military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, took control of the Government of Sudan in a military coup. At least five senior government figures were initially detained. Civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok refused to declare support for the coup and on 25 October called for popular resistance; he was confined to house arrest on 26 October. Internet outages were reported. Later the same day, the Sovereignty Council was dissolved, a state of emergency was put in place, and a majority of the Hamdok Cabinet and a number of pro-government supporters were arrested. As of 5 November 2021, the list of those detained included "government ministers, members of political parties, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and protest leaders", who were held in secret locations, without access to their families or lawyers.

The Battle of Kutum was a conflict during the War in Sudan which occurred in and around the town of Kutum in North Darfur. The Rapid Support Forces quickly overran the city, and carried out massacres in the city and the neighboring Kassab IDP camp. The group then attacked neighboring villages in early June.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War crimes during the Sudanese civil war (2023–present)</span>

The civil war in Sudan, which started on 15 April 2023, has seen widespread war crimes committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with the RSF being singled out by the Human Rights Watch, and the United Kingdom and United States governments for committing ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 FFC; TMC; IDEA; Reeves, Eric (2019-08-10). "Sudan: Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period". sudanreeves.org. Archived from the original on 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  2. 1 2 FFC; TMC (2019-08-04). "(الدستوري Declaration (العربية))" [(Constitutional Declaration)](PDF). raisethevoices.org (in Arabic). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-08-05. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Sudan Activist: 'Committee of Inquiry should include women'". Radio Dabanga . 2019-10-23. Archived from the original on 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  4. 1 2 Salih in Khartoum, Zeinab Mohammed; Burke, Jason (2019-06-11). "Sudanese doctors say dozens of people raped during sit-in attack". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  5. 1 2 "Complete civil disobedience, and open political strike, to avoid chaos". Sudanese Professionals Association. 2019-06-04. Archived from the original on 2019-06-08. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  6. 1 2 Abdelaziz, Khalid (2019-10-21). "Tens of thousands rally against former ruling party in Sudan". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 2019-10-21. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  7. ↑ Abdelaziz, Khalid; Georgy, Michael (2019-06-10). "Sudan sit-in bloodshed cripples uprising". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  8. ↑ Akram-Boshar, Shireen; Bean, Brian (2019-06-13). "Massacre and Uprising in Sudan". Jacobin. Archived from the original on 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  9. ↑ Albaih, Khalid (2019-06-07). "No, it's not over for the Sudanese revolution". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  10. ↑ Ismail, Nermin (9 June 2019). "Militiamen in Sudan raped men and women, says eyewitness". DW. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019. They say that some of the bodies were of men wearing Sudanese army uniforms," the human rights activist reports. Her analysis: "This means the militiamen also attacked some members of the army who showed solidarity with the demonstrators — either because they'd refused to participate in this crime, or because they were trying to protect women and girls from being raped. And so these men were murdered, too.
  11. ↑ Hendawi, Hamza (2019-04-29). "Out of the Darfur desert: the rise of Sudanese general Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo". The National (Abu Dhabi). Archived from the original on 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  12. ↑ Lynch, Justin (2019-06-05). "Remember The Darfur Genocide? With Saudi Help, One of the Killer Commanders There Is Taking Over Sudan". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2020-04-09. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  13. ↑ "Sudanese activists seek justice for mass rapes after militia 'breaks the girls'". France 24. 2019-06-20. Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  14. ↑ "Angry response to June 3 massacre report in Sudan capital". Radio Dabanga. 2019-07-29. Archived from the original on 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  15. ↑ "Darfur Bar Ass report on June 3 Khartoum rape cases damns Sudan junta". Radio Dabanga . 2019-07-31. Archived from the original on 2019-07-31. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  16. ↑ "NUP: June 3 Khartoum massacre premeditated and planned". Radio Dabanga . 2019-07-31. Archived from the original on 2019-07-31. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  17. ↑ "Hamdok forms investigation committee into attacks on pro-democracy protests". Radio Dabanga . 2019-09-22. Archived from the original on 2019-09-22. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  18. ↑ "Sudan investigation committee on June 3 massacre kicks off". Radio Dabanga . 2019-12-23. Archived from the original on 2021-02-05. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  19. 1 2 3 "Start of investigations on Sudan's June 3 Massacre with members of Sovereign Council". Radio Dabanga . 2020-12-22. Archived from the original on 2021-02-05. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  20. ↑ Newline Magazine
  21. ↑ "Sudan: 29 security officers sentenced to death". Radio Dabanga . 2019-12-31. Archived from the original on 2021-02-05. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  22. 1 2 "Sudan set up committee to probe missing protesters". Sudan Tribune . 2019-09-24. Archived from the original on 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.