A coalition of Sudanese activists protested at the Sudanese Human Rights Commission in Khartoum Thursday demanding the immediate release of 30 detained Darfuri students.
In early September, security forces stormed El Zahra female student’s dormitory in Khartoum and detained 30 students who refused to vacate. Another 70 were evicted forcibly.
The protesters included members of the Darfur Students’ Association, Change Now, No to Women’s Oppression Initiative, students of El Zahra dormitory, and the Girifna Movement.
They held banners demanding the release of the students and the prosecution of the perpetrators.
The protestors handed a petition to the commissioner of human rights, condemning alleged “physical abuses” of the detained students while in custody of the National intelligence and Security Services.
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization called on Sudanese authorities to investigate reported abuses, including sexual abuse, of the female Darfuri students.
“Sudanese security forces apparently think they can intimidate Darfuri students by beating them up and throwing them out of their dorms,” said Daniel Bekele, HRW’s Africa director. “There is no justification for treating students that way.”
News photo: A protest march in Port Sudan in September 2013 (Twitter)