Amnesty International (AI) and the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) warned in a joint report published Wednesday that Sudanese security forces have not been held responsible for killing, injuring, and torturing protesters.

The report, “Excessive and deadly: the use of force, detention and torture against protesters in Sudan”, documents allegations of human rights violations committed by the security forces against mostly peaceful protesters over the past two years.

“The use of unnecessary or disproportionate force, including at times lethal force, by the security forces appears to be a deliberate attempt to crush protest,” said Katherine Perks, Programme Director at ACJPS.

“The absence of accountability for those in the security forces illustrates the dangerous culture of impunity that exists in Sudan,” she said.  

The report examines four protests that were violently dispersed by the police, the National Intelligence Security Service (NISS), and other security forces. These include country-wide protests in June 2012, and in September and October 2013, as well as demonstrations at El Gezira University in December 2012, and the University of Khartoum in March 2014.

The government response to these protests was characterised by excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment with protesters beaten and fired on with rubber bullets and live ammunition by security forces. At least 185 people were killed during the 2013 protests.

“In cases where demonstrators did resort to violence, throwing stones and burning tires, the response by security services, including incidents where live ammunition was fired, was unnecessary and disproportionate,” the joint report states.

During the 2012 protests, twelve demonstrators -ten of whom were children- were killed by gunfire on a single day. Of the 185 killed during the 2013 protests, the majority were shot in the head or chest. Many others were shot in the back. One of the dead was found to have been wounded by gunfire, and then shot again at point-blank range.

There are numerous instances where police and NISS officers reportedly blocked protester’s access to hospitals, or arrested injured demonstrators in need of medical treatment. Others chose not to go to hospital for fear of arrest and intimidation, according to the report.

Amnesty International noted that the government has set up committees mandated to investigate these incidents, but the government has not disclosed anything publically about the composition and mandate of these committees.

The rights group alleged a “lack of will to investigate” when relatives of victims have filed criminal complaints.

File photo: Citizens protesting in Khartoum against the lifting of subsidies, 24 September 2013 (hurriyatsudan)