Documentation Period: 20–24 September 2026
Location: Gedaref State – Eastern Sudan
Date of Issue: 25 September 2026
The Darfur Victims Support Organization documented, between 20 and 24 September 2026, a campaign of arrests and security raids in Gedaref State following peaceful protests held in the state on 20 September. The protests were linked to economic and livelihood-related demands amid rising prices and declining purchasing power. Independent reports confirmed that demonstrations took place in Gedaref town, particularly in the Al-Tadamon neighbourhood, and that Resistance Committees called on participants to maintain peaceful conduct and refrain from damaging public or private property.
According to information collected by the Organization from witnesses, direct sources, families of some detainees, and individuals involved in voluntary and humanitarian work, as well as information previously documented by the Organization, the campaign targeted activists and civilians associated with civic, voluntary and humanitarian activities and reportedly extended to minors from several neighbourhoods. The Organization has verified the identities and basic information of four adult detainees, while receiving information concerning the detention of approximately 15 minors from the neighbourhoods of Al-Tadamon, Al-Jenaina, Imtidad October and Abkar Jibril.
The adult detainees whose identities the Organization has verified are Mohamed Al-Badawi, 34, married, from Al-Asra neighbourhood, west of Al-Qadib, and a member of the Gedaref Resistance Committees; Salem Al-Salmi, 30, single, from Al-Suyul neighbourhood in eastern Gedaref near the stadium, a voluntary and humanitarian activist and member of the Gedaref Resistance Committees; Abdel Moneim Omar, 43, married, from Al-Jumhuriya North neighbourhood, and a voluntary and humanitarian activist; and Ahmed Ibrahim, 75, a retired professor from Al-Nazer neighbourhood near the Faculty of Arts at the University of Gedaref and a voluntary and humanitarian activist.
Information documented by the Organization indicates that a number of detainees were transferred to the security cell’s premises in the Popular Market area, near the livestock market. The building was reportedly previously used as a school, boarding facility and midwives’ headquarters. Sources state that over the past two years it has been used by the security cell as a site for detention and interrogation and contains more than 12 rooms. Families and other sources monitoring the situation also reported that detainees were denied visits or meaningful access to information about their condition. As of the date of this report, the Organization has not been able to establish whether all detainees were brought before the Public Prosecution or another competent judicial authority, or whether they were informed of the legal basis for their continued detention.
The Organization considers the combination of these circumstances—including arrests following peaceful protests, security raids, the targeting of activists and persons engaged in civic and humanitarian work, the reported detention of minors, the transfer of detainees to a single security facility, restrictions on communication with their families, and the lack of clarity regarding judicial oversight—to constitute serious indicators of a security practice warranting an independent investigation. Such an investigation should determine whether these events form part of a recurring pattern or an organized policy aimed at restricting civic freedoms. The Organization does not assert that these facts alone establish, as a matter of final legal determination, the existence of a systematic policy. Rather, it considers them sufficient grounds for an independent investigation and for determining responsibility.
Facts and Human Rights Framework
The protests in Gedaref began on 20 September against a backdrop of deteriorating economic and social conditions. Publicly available information indicated that participants were protesting rising prices of essential goods and declining purchasing power, while calls were made for the protests to remain peaceful. In the days that followed, the Organization received information concerning raids and arrests targeting persons who had participated in, or were associated with, civic, voluntary and humanitarian activities, as well as minors from several neighbourhoods.
Information documented by the Organization indicates that detainees were transferred to the security cell’s premises in the Popular Market and that their families were prevented from accessing them or obtaining sufficient information regarding their whereabouts and condition. As of the date of this report, the Organization has not been able to verify whether all cases of detention have been subject to prompt judicial review or whether all detainees were clearly informed of the reasons for their deprivation of liberty and of any charges brought against them.
The Organization has also received information alleging that the leadership of the security cell in the state includes individuals with links to the Islamist movement, the National Congress Party and the General Intelligence Service. The Organization presents this information as subject to further documentation and verification and does not regard it, in itself, as sufficient grounds for attributing individual responsibility to any person. An independent investigation should determine who ordered the arrests and raids, who carried them out, who exercised authority over the places of detention, and who may have been aware of any violations and failed to take appropriate measures to prevent or investigate them.
These events must be assessed in light of Sudan’s obligations under international and regional human rights law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects the right to liberty and security of person and prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention. It also guarantees the right to be informed of the reasons for arrest and detention, to be brought before a judicial authority, and to challenge the lawfulness of deprivation of liberty, while protecting freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and fair-trial guarantees. Sudan has been a State party to the Covenant since 1986.
Sudan is also a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is relevant to the broader context in which the protests occurred, particularly with regard to rights relating to an adequate standard of living, work and social protection.
Relevant obligations also arise under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, together with international standards concerning the prevention of arbitrary detention and ill-treatment. With respect to children, the Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes the best interests of the child as a primary consideration, prohibits arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of liberty, and provides that detention of a child should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period, with guarantees of judicial review, legal assistance and treatment appropriate to the child’s age and specific needs.
At the African regional level, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights protects the rights to dignity, liberty and security of person, prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, guarantees the right to a fair trial, and protects freedom of expression and assembly. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child provides additional protection for children, including safeguards relating to liberty and security, the best interests of the child, and treatment during detention. These protections are complemented by the Luanda Guidelines on Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention in Africa, which emphasize that deprivation of liberty must be grounded in law and subject to judicial oversight and safeguards against arbitrariness and ill-treatment.
These obligations assume particular importance in Sudan in the context of the armed conflict that has continued since April 2023 and the presence of multiple armed and security actors. In the Joint Banjul Declaration on Sudan issued in May 2026, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan stated that patterns of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment must cease immediately. They further called for all persons arbitrarily deprived of their liberty to be released or promptly brought before a competent judicial authority and called for independent and effective investigations into violations.
Against this legal framework, the detention of persons following their participation in peaceful protests cannot be considered lawful merely because of their participation in such protests. Any deprivation of liberty must be grounded in clear law, meet the requirements of necessity and proportionality, and be accompanied by appropriate procedural and judicial safeguards. Similarly, home raids without a disclosed legal basis, preventing families from knowing the whereabouts of their relatives or communicating with them, and denying detainees prompt access to lawyers or judicial authorities raise serious concerns relating to arbitrary detention, the right to defence and protection against ill-treatment.
The reported detention of minors is of particular concern. If confirmed, the detention of approximately 15 minors from several neighbourhoods requires immediate action to establish their whereabouts and safety, notify their families, provide access to legal assistance, and ensure that they are not subjected to ill-treatment or held in conditions incompatible with their particular status and needs. The legal basis for the detention of each child should be examined individually. No form of collective responsibility should be presumed, and a child’s deprivation of liberty should not be linked to the activities of a family member or the child’s broader civic environment.
The Organization’s Demands and Call for Urgent Action
The Darfur Victims Advocacy Organization calls upon the competent authorities to immediately disclose the identity of all persons detained in connection with the protests, their places of detention, and their legal and medical status; to notify their families; to ensure immediate access to family members and legal counsel; to provide medical care where necessary; and to bring every person who remains detained, without undue delay, before the Public Prosecution or another competent judicial authority. Detainees must be informed of the reasons for their detention and provided with an effective opportunity to challenge its legality.
The Organization further calls for the release of anyone deprived of liberty solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly or lawful civic activity, unless a specific criminal charge exists on a clear legal basis, and for full respect of all fair-trial guarantees. In particular, the authorities should urgently disclose the whereabouts of all detained minors, notify their families, ensure independent verification of their safety, provide appropriate protection and legal assistance, and ensure that children are detained only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period.
The Organization calls for an immediate end to arbitrary raids and arrests and for assurances that security detention will not be used to intimidate participants in peaceful protests, activists, or persons engaged in civic, voluntary and humanitarian work. All places of detention should be subject to independent legal and judicial oversight, and no person should be held in a secret, undisclosed or otherwise unlawful detention facility.
The Organization further calls for an independent and transparent investigation into the arrests and raids, the conditions in which adults and minors have been detained, the reported denial of family visits or information concerning detainees, and any allegations of ill-treatment. The investigation should establish individual and institutional responsibility on the basis of evidence and should ensure that detainees, their families, witnesses, lawyers and human rights defenders are not subjected to threats or reprisals for cooperating with documentation or investigative efforts.
The Organization calls upon the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Joint Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the relevant United Nations Special Procedures, and other concerned regional and international actors to follow these developments as a matter of urgency, engage with the competent authorities, and work to ensure access to detainees and independent verification of their safety and legal status. This appeal is made in the context of the continuing international and African mandates to document and address human rights violations in Sudan, as well as strengthened cooperation in 2026 between the African and United Nations fact-finding mechanisms.
The Darfur Victims Support Organization emphasizes that protecting persons deprived of their liberty, ensuring the safety of minors, respecting freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, guaranteeing judicial oversight of deprivation of liberty, and investigating allegations of ill-treatment are not political demands. They are legal obligations arising from the applicable international and regional human rights instruments.
The Organization calls for urgent action before continued detention without effective oversight further increases the risks facing detainees and their families and contributes to an environment of intimidation affecting civil society more broadly. The Organization will continue to document the situation of detainees and monitor information concerning them, while maintaining strict safeguards for the protection of sources, witnesses and minors and refraining from publishing any information that could place them at further risk.
