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December 29, 2020 (KHARTOUM) – Tens of thousands of people gathered Tuesday to mourn a civilian who died under torture by the controversial Rapid Support Forces (RSF). His funeral was seen as a further demonstration of the aversion that Sudanese feel towards the militia accused of serious human rights violations.
Baha Eldin Nouri’s funeral procession began with hundreds of cars from the Omdurman Hospital morgue to the RSF detention center, located in Khartoum North, where the 45-year-old man was killed.
The mourners stopped for a few minutes in front of the SRF premises before taking the coffin to the home of the deceased’s family and from there to the cemetery in the Kalakla neighborhood in southern Khartoum.
Hundreds of mourners held photographs and banners of Nour denouncing his arrest and calling for the execution of the murderers.
Mourners who attended the longest funeral procession in Sudan’s modern history chanted slogans denouncing the Rapid Support Forces and calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
At the end of the funeral ceremony, his brother Mohamed Nouri reiterated his demand for retribution and the trial of all those implicated in the kidnapping, torture and murder of Bahaa El-Din.
The Public Ministry on Monday charged members of RSF with murder under torture, while the militia said the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice.
The incident reopened the debate on the unpopular militia established by the former president to wage war on rebel groups and defend his regime.
Baha El-Din Nouri died in an RSF detention center in Khartoum on December 20. His family refused to remove his body and requested a second autopsy after finding signs of torture on his body.
The Central Council of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) demanded on Tuesday to ban the detention of civilians by RSF militiamen.
“We call for a ban on the arrest by the Rapid Support Forces of any civilian and under any pretext,” the FFC said in a statement issued to the Sudan Tribune.
“Any arrest operation is one of the central functions of the police and an inherent duty of the internal security agency, which cannot be exercised through the Rapid Support Forces,” the statement further emphasized.
The FFC asked the prosecution to inspect all RSF facilities across the country to “make sure they are free of detainees” and to close all their detention centers.
Baha-Eldin’s murder was condemned by various political groups.
RSF has been accused of attacks against the pro-democracy sit-in and the killing of peaceful protesters on June 3, 2019. The government formed an independent investigative committee, but still did not submit its report.
(ST)
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