The Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) on 25 December condemned the continued use by Sudanese authorities of live bullets to disperse protesters, which left 40 civilians dead among them children and women, mostly due to gunshots.

The statement also rejected the censorship imposed by authorities on the media and storming headquarters of political parties and other opposition forces. The organization “reiterated its condemnation of continued crackdown on the opposition and the blocking of all means of peaceful expression which have been stepped up in recent years in a manner that may lead to escalation of the situation and increase popular anger against economic and security policies”.

The organization urged the Sudanese authorities to respect the right to freedom of expression, guarantee the right to peaceful protest and protect lives of citizens and peaceful protesters. It highlighted the need to monitor the manner in which security forces and other elements aligned with the government deal with protesters. The organization called on the government authorities “to release all citizens detained in the backdrop of the protests and to immediately conduct an independent and transparent investigation on the death of protesters over the past days and publicly release the findings of the investigation”.

Source: AOHR