El Obeid, March 06 (Darfur24)
A court in Al-Abyad, North Kordofan State, has sentenced two 15-year-old girls to three years in a social welfare institution after convicting them under Article 51 of the Sudanese Criminal Code on charges of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Lawyer Othman Saleh told Darfur24 that the two girls were arrested in El Obeid and remained in detention at El Obeid National Prison throughout the trial.
He explained that one of the girls had been working in a café in the village of Kaba, west of El Obeid, an area that was previously under RSF control. According to Saleh, difficult economic conditions pushed her to take the job, while RSF members were among the customers who frequented the café.
Saleh added that the second girl was accused based on messages found on her mobile phone exchanged with a relative living abroad, which authorities considered evidence of communication with parties linked to the RSF.
He said the Family and Child Court in El Obeid issued its verdict on February 26 under Article 51/A of the 1991 Penal Code and ordered that the girls be placed in a social welfare institution for three years. They were subsequently handed over to the Family and Child Unit in El Obeid.
Saleh described the conditions in the unit as extremely difficult, saying the detention cells are overcrowded and lack basic provisions.
He added that the girls spend most of the day inside the guardhouse and are allowed out only twice daily to use the toilet, once in the early morning and once in the evening.
According to Saleh, the two girls are suffering from a deteriorating psychological condition due to the circumstances of their detention, as well as bullying and verbal abuse inside the facility. He said they have repeatedly asked to be returned to prison, spending much of their time crying and calling for help amid the absence of psychological or social support.