Sudan’s State Security Prosecution on Tuesday accused 25 members of the Justice and Equality Movement-Peace Wing (JEM-PW) led by Bakhit Dabajo of undermining the constitutional system, waging war against the state, and fighting against the army in South Kordofan and South Darfur states.
JEM-PW is a former Darfur rebel group that made peace with the government and agreed to integrate its forces into the Sudanese army. Now, however, some of their forces have been arrested after going to Khartoum for integration.
Mahmud Abdul-Baqi, Prosecutor of the State Security, informed judges of the Khartoum North Court that the National Security and Intelligence Service (NSIS) filed a complaint in which it accused 25 South Sudanese fighters in the ranks of the JEM-PW of attacking Sudanese villages, burning agricultural fields, killing civilians and a number of Sudanese soldiers.
The prosecutor said: “The case was brought to the prosecution on 2 February. The National Security and Intelligence Service officially accused the 25 elements of the JEM forces of destroying water sources and seizing guns belonging to the Sudanese army in battles in the areas of Heglig, Kharasana, and Alait Jar Al Nabi.”
Meanwhile, an investigator in charge of the case confirmed that the 25 defendants hail from neighboring South Sudan. The investigator pointed out that the accused were fighting in the ranks of the Justice and Equality Movement, claiming one of them has already confessed.
JEM was especially active in South Sudan in 2012, the year in which the Heglig and Kharasana battles took place, and recruited a number of South Sudanese citizens.
For his part, one of defenant’s lawyers told Al Tariq newspaper that his clients were fighting in the ranks of the Justice and Equality Movement led by Jibril Ibrahim, but they defected to Bakhit Dabajo’s faction that signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government in 2012.
The lawyer further said the Dabajo’s forces were transported to Khartoum for reintegration into the army, but the security apparatus abruptly arrested the 25 former rebels on 4 March 2015.
He noted that his clients are now facing charges under Articles 50, 51, 60, and 65 of the Sudanese Penal Code and articles 5 and 6 of the Terrorism Law.