Sudan to Investigate Rape Against Female Demonstrators

On Monday, Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council asked the concerned authorities to investigate rape allegations against female protesters in Khartoum on Dec. 19.

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On Dec. 21, the United Nations (UN) human rights office called for a prompt, independent, and thorough investigation into allegations of sexual violence including gang rape during protests.

The Dec. 19 demonstration "drew hundreds of thousands of people to the capital Khartoum to protest against a military coup on October 25 and a November 21 agreement signed to reinstate Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok," Al Jazeera recalled.

Shortly after the events, human rights defenders belonging to the Darfur Bar Association noted that the rapes that took place during the protests indicate a change in the type of crimes committed against revolutionaries, "so it is the duty of all to join a campaign to prosecute the perpetrators and those behind them."

Liz Throssell, the spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, said they received reports alleging that 13 women and girls were raped or gang raped; and that women were sexually harassed while fleeing the area around the presidential palace in Khartoum.

Sudan has been suffering a political crisis after General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25 and dissolved the sovereign council and government.

On Nov. 21, Al-Burhan and the then removed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok signed a political declaration, which included reinstating Hamdok as prime minister, but the deal has so far failed to calm the street.