Sudan: RSF Releases Four Journalists and Lawyer After Months in Detention in North Darfur

What the report says

The Rapid Support Forces have released four female journalists and a lawyer in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, according to Dabanga as distributed by AllAfrica. The people named in the report are Dr. Manahil Mustafa, Ishraqa Abdelrahman, Mawahib Ibrahim, Zahra Mohamed El Hassan, and lawyer Magda Hassan Ali. Sources cited by the outlet said they had been held for about six months, though the exact length of detention varied among them.

The report says the five were detained after attending a workshop in February that focused on women’s issues and rights. Their release comes amid wider concern about detention and disappearances in Sudan’s conflict, where journalists and civil society figures have faced serious risks since fighting escalated between the RSF and the Sudanese army in 2023.

The article also notes a separate release: the family of former education ministry director general El Hadi Abdelrahman said he was freed after more than a year and a half in Dagris prison in South Darfur. Dabanga’s report further cites the Sudanese Journalists’ Syndicate, which says five of its members remain missing and calls for disclosure of their fate and an independent investigation. That broader context underscores continued pressure on media workers and the importance of transparency over detention cases in the region.