The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has documented extremely alarming humanitarian conditions inside Dagrees Prison, located southwest of Nyala in South Darfur, amid reports of massive overcrowding—with the number of detainees exceeding the facility’s capacity by tens of thousands—and widespread systematic physical and psychological abuse.
Dagrees Prison sits on the Ad‑Daffarsan – Nyala road, near Wadi Bulbul, and was established in 2015 as a replacement for the old Nyala Federal Prison (Korea Prison), which dated back to the Anglo‑Egyptian era and suffered from space limitations and deteriorating infrastructure and sanitation. Dagrees was originally planned as part of what was known as the “City of Goodness” project, designed to include rehabilitation facilities and vocational workshops, with an estimated capacity of no more than 5,000 detainees.
However, the outbreak of war prevented the facility from being officially inaugurated as intended. Following an armed attack on the old Nyala prison—which resulted in the release of inmates—Dagrees Prison was subsequently used as a large‑scale detention site. According to CFJ’s monitoring, the number of detainees has now exceeded 160,000, after administrative buildings and workers’ housing were forcibly absorbed into the prison compound to expand detention capacity.
Reports indicate that among the detainees are political, military, academic, and media figures, in addition to hundreds of civilians from various social groups across the Darfur region. There is also evidence of discriminatory treatment based on tribal affiliations, with some detainees released through social mediation while others remain held without any legal procedures.
Serious Violations Against Detainees
Information gathered by CFJ reveals that detainees face severe shortages of food and water. In many instances, detainees receive only one small piece of food per day, and are supplied with non-potable water in minimal quantities. Repeated deaths inside the prison have been documented due to starvation, malnutrition, and medical neglect—most recently the deaths of former civil servants and trade unionists—indicating a complete collapse of basic detention standards.
CFJ has also documented multiple forms of torture and ill‑treatment, including verbal humiliation, forced degrading acts, severe beatings, electric shocks, and burning detainees with cigarette butts—constituting clear violations of the right to human dignity and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
Grave Violations Requiring Accountability
CFJ affirms that the situation inside Dagrees Prison amounts to serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, potentially rising to the level of grave crimes requiring accountability, especially given the mass detention without legal basis, extreme overcrowding, systematic torture, and deaths within detention facilities.
CFJ calls for the immediate release of all those held arbitrarily or, at minimum, their referral to competent judicial authorities under fair‑trial guarantees. The committee further demands an end to all forms of torture and ill‑treatment, urgent and independent access for humanitarian and human rights organizations, and the opening of an independent international investigation into the violations committed inside Dagrees Prison, with full accountability for perpetrators and guarantees against impunity.
