El Fasher, September 11 (Darfur24)
Former detainees have warned of deteriorating health conditions among prisoners held at Shala Prison in El Fasher, North Darfur, amid reported disease outbreaks, shortages of medicine and limited access to medical care.
Three former detainees, including a health worker, who were released at different times between June and August, told Darfur24 that detainees were living in what they described as “catastrophic” conditions.
Former detainee Abdullah Saleh said the situation was particularly difficult for sick prisoners, including those with chronic illnesses who, he said, lacked access to essential medicines and healthcare.
Saleh said he was smuggled out of Shala Prison by three members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-July after spending about seven months in detention. He said they had transferred him there from the Al-Rashid dormitory at Al-Fasher University.
According to Saleh, some detainees were “dying slowly from illness.” He also said several detainees died during the early months of his detention, which he attributed to disease and starvation.
Another former detainee, released in late June, said hundreds of people had been transferred to Shala from various detention centres in El Fasher at different times. He said most of the detainees were civilians and remained in custody.
The former detainee called for urgent intervention by human rights organisations, saying the conditions inside Shala required immediate action to prevent further loss of life.
Separately, a health worker told Darfur24 that he and dozens of others were taken from Saudi Hospital in El Fasher to a detention centre before being released about a month ago in exchange for a ransom.
The health worker said that, based on what he witnessed, many detainees were suffering from symptoms he suspected could be associated with tuberculosis. He said the lack of diagnostic equipment made it difficult to confirm cases and increased concerns about possible transmission among detainees.
Darfur24 could not obtain an immediate comment from the RSF on the conditions of detainees at Shala Prison.
In June, the Sudanese government accused the RSF of operating mass detention centres at Degris and Shala in Darfur, where it alleged that detainees were subjected to torture and starvation. The government also accused the RSF of operating a cross-border human organ trafficking network in a letter to the UN Security Council.