Sudan: 14-year-old boy shot dead by a police officer during a rally in Khartoum

(4 March, 2023) African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) calls upon Sudanese Authorities to urgently conduct an impartial and independent investigation into the death of a teenage protestor and ensure perpetuators are held accountable. We further call upon the authorities to involve the Sudanese Bar and Journalist Associations in the investigation.

On 28 February 2022, 14-year-old Ibrahim Mazoob Ibrahim was shot in the chest by a security officer dressed in Central Reserve Police forces’ uniform with a rank of lieutenant during a rally. ACJPS has been informed by reliable sources that the name of officer is Noor Eldien Taha. Mr. Ibrahim was a Student at Almarif Turkish School and a resident of East Nile locality, Alhaj Yousef neighborhood in Khartoum Bahari. In a short video clip obtained by ACJPS, the officer is seen aiming at Mr. Ibrahim in the chest with an automatic gun from very short distance. He is also seen shooting two more bullets targeted at two other protesters who sustained injuries. The video has since been circulated and has been watched by several people on both social and traditional media.

Other developments

Of recent, the office of the Attorney General has been active in investigating serious cases. For example, the office of the the prosecutor in Blue Nile Region has investigated cases involving 14 members of Hausa tribe accused of killing two Policemen on 13 July 2022. The cases were referred to a court in Senar State. Additionally, there are cases involving 10 young resistance committee members accused of killing a soldier and police officer. These were referred to two courts in Khartoum by the office of the prosecutor.

Although the office of the Attorney General has some success stories, it also has several shortcomings some of which include; failure to exercise its role of supervising the security forces especially during protests by approving what force should be used.  The office of the Attorney General is also believed to be intentionally delaying transfer of cases to court after the completion of investigations. For example, the case of Mr. Baha Elden Nori who was killed at Rapid Support Forces’ detention center in Khartoum, the case of a young protester who was killed on 3 June 2020 and the case of explosives in Khartoum in 2021. In some instances, soldiers were arrested and interrogated but the cases were never transferred to court and the soldiers were instead released to return to their units.

The policing of assemblies must respect human rights and must be carried out in accordance with international standards, which prohibit the use of force unless strictly necessary and proportionate. Sudanese authorities should make it clear that arbitrary or abusive use of force by security forces will be punished as a criminal offence. We ask Sudanese authorities to cease violation of human rights of citizens guaranteed in the Constitutional Charter, Regional and international treaties ratified by Sudan.

ACJPS further calls upon the office of the Attorney General to fulfill its mandate in supervising security forces, investigate cases, and issue public statements about public interest cases such as the legal status of the case where 124 protesters were killed by police.

Background

Sudanese security forces are known for using unwarranted force to disperse crowds during protests including firing live ammunition and teargas directly at people often times resulting into the killing and injuring several people. ACJPS has documented more than 126 deaths and injuring of thousands of protesters across Sudan since the coup of 25^th The October 2021. In 2022, the American Congress issued sanctions against Central Reserve Police for their notorious use of excessive force against the protesters during Sudanese anti- coup rallies. Although several cases have been reported, only a few have been investigated and prosecuted as immunity of perpetrators and lack of political will have played a big role in obstructing justice.