Sudan Orders Fast-Track Trials and Releases for Female Detainees Accused of RSF Ties

Sudan’s military leadership has ordered accelerated legal proceedings and the release of hundreds of female detainees accused of links to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), amid ongoing efforts to review detention practices during the conflict.

Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, issued the directive on Friday following an inspection visit to Omdurman Women’s Prison, west of the capital, Khartoum.

In a statement shared on X, al-Burhan ordered the immediate release of 400 female inmates, including mothers being held with their children, and announced that all financial penalties connected to public-rights cases would be waived.

He also instructed judicial authorities to reassess and reclassify cases involving detainees accused of cooperating with the RSF, with the aim of expediting legal processes while ensuring due process and the protection of detainees’ rights.

According to al-Burhan, the move is part of a broader review of Sudan’s justice system to lessen the impact of the conflict on civilians and uphold the rule of law under what he described as the country’s “exceptional circumstances”.

Sudan has been engulfed in a violent power struggle between the national army and the RSF since April 2023, a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and forced millions from their homes.

The RSF currently controls most of the Darfur region, holding four of its five states, with limited areas of North Darfur still under army control. The Sudanese army maintains dominance across much of the remaining states in the north, south, east, and central regions, including large parts of Khartoum.