Nyala, July 22 (Darfur24)
An emergency court in Nyala, South Darfur State, has sentenced two doctors to one year in prison and fined each of them 7 million Sudanese pounds for issuing a medical referral to the wife of a former Rapid Support Forces (RSF) member, according to three local sources.
The sources told Darfur24 that the court convicted Dr. Ibrahim Tawil, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and Dr. Mutaz Omar, an orthopedic and general surgery specialist, while allowing them the right to appeal.
According to the sources, RSF intelligence officers arrested the two doctors earlier this month after they issued a referral allowing the woman to seek treatment in an area under the control of the Sudanese army.
Dr. Tawil runs the Immunity Medical Clinic in central Nyala, while Dr. Omar works at several hospitals and health centers in the city.
Residents said a number of public hospitals and health facilities in Nyala have stopped issuing referrals for patients needing treatment in army-controlled areas.
Medical sources, however, said no formal order banning such referrals has been issued by the state health authorities. They added that hospitals operating under the civilian administration aligned with the RSF have instead refused to issue referrals amid restrictions on travel to areas controlled by the Sudanese army.
The case comes as Sudan’s war continues to cripple healthcare services across Darfur, forcing many patients to travel to central and northern Sudan in search of specialized medical treatment.