Sudanese Protesters Brutalized by Security Forces

Introduction

Sudan's recent history has been defined by the tension between popular demands for democratic governance and the determination of military elites to retain power. From the mass protests that toppled Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, to the brutal crackdown on the Khartoum sit-in in June 2019, to the military coup of October 2021 and the subsequent war that erupted in April 2023, Sudanese civilians—and particularly those who took to the streets to demand democracy—have paid an extraordinary price in blood and liberty. This article examines the patterns of violence and repression directed at protesters, the legal framework governing the right to protest and freedom of assembly, the accountability deficit, and the implications for those who have fled.

Historical Background: From al-Bashir to the Military Coup

Omar al-Bashir ruled Sudan for 30 years before mass protests, which began in December 2018 over bread prices and economic collapse, rapidly evolved into demands for his removal. Al-Bashir was ousted by the military in April 2019 following months of sustained protest, during which security forces killed dozens of demonstrators. Rather than hand power to civilians, the military—led by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary force commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti)—established the Transitional Sovereignty Council.

On 3 June 2019, RSF forces and other security personnel attacked a peaceful sit-in at Khartoum's military headquarters, killing more than 120 people in a single day and throwing bodies into the Nile River, according to a UN Fact-Finding Mission report. The attack was among the worst single incidents of violence against protesters documented in the region in recent years. Despite international condemnation, no one has been prosecuted for the Khartoum massacre.

A transitional civilian-military government established in 2019 was overthrown by a military coup on 25 October 2021. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the government, arrested civilian leaders, and declared a state of emergency. Mass protests erupted immediately, and security forces responded with live ammunition, tear gas, and mass arrests.

Post-Coup Repression of Protesters

Between October 2021 and April 2023—when war between the SAF and RSF erupted—Sudan witnessed 13 months of persistent pro-democracy protests met with escalating state violence. The UN Human Rights Office documented 87 protesters killed in this period, a figure widely regarded as an undercount given access restrictions. Thousands were arrested, many held in prolonged incommunicado detention, and credible reports of torture in detention sites including Kober prison in Khartoum were documented by UN experts and Amnesty International.

Women protesters faced particular targeting. Human Rights Watch documented cases of sexual assault against female demonstrators by security forces during dispersals of protest gatherings, with perpetrators acting with apparent impunity. Protest leaders and members of Resistance Committees—decentralised neighbourhood networks that had organised both the 2018–2019 uprising and the post-coup protests—were arrested, subjected to enforced disappearance, and held without charge for extended periods.

The use of internet shutdowns as a tool of repression was extensively documented. NetBlocks and Access Now documented multiple instances of government-ordered telecommunications shutdowns during major protest days, intended to prevent protesters from coordinating and to prevent the transmission of footage of security force violence to international audiences.

The War of April 2023 and Its Impact on Protesters

When armed conflict between the SAF and RSF erupted on 15 April 2023, the pre-existing pattern of protest repression merged into a broader catastrophe of mass atrocity. Protest leaders and civil society activists who had been campaigning for democracy became direct military targets of both warring factions. The RSF in particular was documented carrying out targeted killings of Resistance Committee members in areas under its control in Khartoum, Omdurman, and Darfur. The UN Commission of Human Rights Experts on Sudan, established in October 2023, documented evidence of RSF forces specifically hunting down pro-democracy activists in occupied neighbourhoods.

Comparison: Protest Repression Indicators

International Legal Framework

Sudan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 21 of the ICCPR protects the right of peaceful assembly, permitting only such restrictions as are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order, or the protection of the rights or freedoms of others. The systematic use of lethal force against peaceful protesters—who posed no threat to security forces or the public—manifestly exceeds any permissible restriction. Article 6 (right to life) and Article 7 (prohibition of torture) are both engaged by the documented killings, torture in detention, and sexual violence against protesters.

The Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by the Eighth UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in 1990, require that law enforcement officials shall not use firearms against persons except in self-defence or defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury. Firing live ammunition into crowds of peaceful protesters cannot meet this standard under any circumstances.

Sudan has not ratified the Convention Against Torture (CAT), but is bound by the customary international law prohibition of torture. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has specifically called out Sudan's treatment of detained protesters, noting credible evidence of beatings, electric shocks, and stress positions used in detention facilities.

Accountability Gap

The UN Human Rights Council established the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan in October 2023, following the outbreak of war. The Mission's mandate includes investigating violations committed since 15 April 2023, but Sudan's government has denied Mission members access to the country. The absence of physical access has severely hampered documentation, though remote interviews and satellite imagery analysis have yielded important findings.

The ICC has jurisdiction over atrocity crimes committed in Darfur under Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005). While the ICC's mandate predates the current conflict and focused primarily on Darfur, the Prosecutor has indicated interest in whether current crimes in Darfur—including by the RSF—fall within its existing jurisdiction. This is an area of live legal development as of 2024.

Expert Analysis

"The Sudanese people have paid in blood for demanding democracy. They faced bullets in 2019, bullets again after the coup in 2021, and then became targets of a war in 2023. Through all of this, the international response has been inadequate. The Khartoum massacre of June 2019 alone warranted an international criminal investigation; instead, the world moved on within weeks. This impunity has had a direct cost: each time atrocities went unanswered, those committing them understood that there were no consequences, and the next wave of violence came worse than the last."

Mohamed Osman, Sudan researcher, Human Rights Watch, speaking to the UN Human Rights Council (2023)

What This Means for Sudanese Asylum Claims

More than 700 protesters were killed after the October 2021 military coup and over 13,000 protesters and activists arrested, while no security force member has been convicted for killing protesters. Protesters and activists can rely on political opinion, including imputed opinion. That level of impunity shows the state will not protect, and people identified at protests face a risk of detention on return. Our Sudan country expert witness reports assess these risks for individual clients.

Conclusion

Sudan's security forces have consistently treated peaceful protest as a threat to be neutralised through lethal force, arbitrary detention, torture, and sexual violence. The Khartoum sit-in massacre of June 2019 and the sustained crackdown on pro-democracy protests following the October 2021 coup constitute serious violations of Sudan's obligations under the ICCPR and constitute international crimes. The absence of any domestic accountability has contributed to a culture of impunity that has facilitated the far larger-scale atrocities of the war that began in April 2023. Protesters and civil society activists who have fled Sudan as a result of this targeted persecution are entitled to protection under international refugee law, on grounds of political opinion and membership of a particular social group—that of organised pro-democracy civil society.