Nyala, July 28 (Darfur24)
The health of three women activists detained by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Nyala, South Darfur State, has deteriorated after months in custody without access to adequate medical care, according to multiple sources who spoke to Darfur24 on Monday.
The RSF’s intelligence unit arrested several women activists in March after they participated in a workshop on women’s rights. According to their families, they were initially held at a detention facility near the Popular Market before being transferred to Koria Prison and later to a detention centre at the former UNICEF compound in the Al-Wadi neighbourhood.
Those detained include broadcaster Ishraqah Abdel Rahman, Dr. Manal Mustafa Al-Sanousi, director of the Al-Manhal Centre for Training and Capacity Building, radio broadcaster Zahraa Mohammed Al-Hassan, Mawaheb Ibrahim, Izdehar Abdel Moneim Hamed, and human rights activists Magda Hassan Ali and Sarah Adam.
A relative of one of the detainees, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told Darfur24 that recently released detainees had reported a deterioration in the health of human rights activist Magda Hassan Ali, broadcaster Ishraqah Abdel Rahman, and Dr. Manal Mustafa Al-Sanousi.
The relative said the women remain detained at the former UNICEF compound in Al-Wadi and that the RSF has refused to allow family visits or transfer them outside the detention facility for medical treatment.
A police source affiliated with the RSF, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, told Darfur24 that the women were transferred from Koria Prison to the Security and Intelligence Department headquarters in Al-Wadi weeks after their arrest. The source said they were being held on accusations of collaborating with the Sudanese army, spying, and organising unauthorised workshops funded by organisations not registered with the Sudanese Relief and Humanitarian Aid Agency.
A source at South Darfur’s Ministry of Health told Darfur24 that one detainee who was taken to the hospital for treatment reported the deteriorating health of Magda Hassan Ali, Ishraqah Abdel Rahman, and Dr. Manal Mustafa. The source said the detention authorities had refused to transfer the three women for treatment outside the detention centre.
Last week, the Sudanese Group for the Defence of Rights and Freedoms said human rights defender Magda Hassan Ali Al-Amin, a member of the group and the Darfur Lawyers Association, had been arbitrarily detained for several months on charges of “cooperation.”
In a statement seen by Darfur24, the group said it continues to pursue the release of the detained women human rights defenders through available legal and advocacy channels.
The organisation noted that while several detainees have been released after months in custody, Magda Hassan Ali and several others remain detained. It expressed concern for their safety, citing their prolonged detention and reported deterioration in health.