Sudan’s Burhan orders release of 400 female inmates accused of cooperating with RSF

KHARTOUM, Sudan/ISTANBUL

Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Friday ordered the release of 400 female inmates from Omdurman Women’s Prison and a review of the justice process for detainees accused of cooperating with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with the aim of accelerating trials and safeguarding legal rights.

The directive came during an inspection visit by Burhan to the women’s prison in Omdurman, west of the capital, Khartoum.

In a post on the US social media company X, Burhan said he ordered the “immediate release of 400 inmates, including mothers detained with their children,” adding that all financial penalties related to public-rights cases would be waived.

He also said he instructed officials to “reclassify cases legally and review the justice system for detainees accused of cooperating with the RSF in order to speed up litigation procedures and ensure their rights.”

The Sudanese leader stressed that he had issued orders for a comprehensive review of legal procedures and the justice framework “to mitigate the impact of the conflict and ensure the application of the rule of law, while taking into account the exceptional circumstances the country is going through.”

Sudan has been locked in a deadly conflict between the army and the RSF since April 2023, killing thousands of people and displacing millions of others.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF now holds all five in the Darfur region, except for a few northern areas of North Darfur still under army control. The Sudanese army continues to dominate most of the remaining 13 states across the south, north, east, and central regions, including the capital, Khartoum.