Sudanese Court Sentences Six Police Officers to Death for Fatal Torture of Detainee

3 August 2026

August 2, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – A court in northern Sudan sentenced six police officers to death by hanging on Sunday for torturing a detainee to death inside a detention centre, the Public Prosecution said in a statement.

Judge Nizar Ahmed Abdallah of the Dongola Criminal Court convicted the officers, including a lieutenant colonel, of joint commission of premeditated murder under the Sudanese Criminal Act.

Prosecution evidence showed the officers assaulted and tortured a detainee at the Criminal Investigation Department center in Dongola, causing his death.

The court sentenced Lieutenant Colonel Nizar Ahmed al-Hassan, Sergeant Elias Abdel Rahman, Corporal Mohamed Abdel Rahman, Corporal Khalid Yasir, and Privates Mosaab Abdel Rahman and Rami under Articles 21 and 130 of the penal code.

Police Major Ammar Abdallah al-Khadir was acquitted due to insufficient evidence of criminal liability.

Sudanese law prohibits extracting statements under duress, and courts routinely throw out forced confessions, though rights groups frequently report instances of police abuse.

The initial verdict remains subject to appeal before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.