Sudan: Over 1,600 Prisoners in Port Sudan Face “Catastrophic” Conditions, Lawyer Warns
Detainees in Port Sudan prison are living in dire conditions, facing prolonged detention and a lack of fair trial guarantees, according to the Emergency Lawyers advocacy group.
Rehab Mubarak, a member of the group’s executive office, said in a statement that the prison now holds around 1,600 inmates, many enduring worsening conditions since nearby military sites came under attack. She described the situation as “catastrophic,” citing a lack of basic safety, justice, and proper detention standards.
Mubarak highlighted that pre-trial detainees often remain behind bars far longer than Sudanese law allows, in some cases up to 18 months without trial. Court sessions are frequently delayed—sometimes by 40 days—because members of a security cell (comprising army, police, and intelligence officers) fail to appear in court despite also serving as complainants in the cases.
The lawyer also revealed that the prison houses 250 inmates on death row, including 75 accused under Articles 50 and 51 of Sudan’s Criminal Law for alleged ties to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Among them are teachers, doctors, journalists, lawyers, and students, whom Mubarak described as “well-behaved, with no criminal background,” alleging the charges were politically motivated.
Conditions are further worsened by the collapse of the prison’s desalination plant, leaving prisoners dependent on poor-quality saline water mixed with limited supplies of brought-in desalinated water.
Port Sudan, which became the country’s administrative capital after conflict erupted more than two years ago, is itself struggling with a clean water crisis as a long-delayed project to bring Nile River water to the city stalls.
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