The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has documented a troubling pattern involving the release of civilian detainees from Dagris Prison in the city of Nyala, South Darfur State, whereby families are reportedly required to pay financial sums in exchange for their relatives’ release.
According to available information, some of these releases have taken place through direct communication between detainees and their families, during which monetary payments were demanded as a condition for release. These practices have been described as financial extortion and exploitation of families’ suffering, particularly amid the ongoing deterioration of humanitarian conditions.
The information indicates that most of the detainees were arrested from areas under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and were held for extended periods under harsh conditions lacking minimum humanitarian standards, including inadequate healthcare and poor detention conditions.
CFJ stated that conditioning detainees’ release on the payment of ransom constitutes a serious violation of the right to liberty and may amount to crimes of detention for unlawful financial gain. The Committee stressed that any such releases do not absolve those responsible of legal accountability for the violations committed prior to the release.
The Committee holds the Rapid Support Forces fully responsible for the safety of detainees from the moment of their arrest, and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees and for ensuring their safe return to their families.
CFJ also emphasized the need to enable families to know the fate of their relatives, to subject release processes to independent oversight to ensure transparency, and to protect those released from any targeting or re‑arrest.
The Committee warned that the continuation of these practices undermines the rule of law and entrenches patterns of detention outside the legal framework, calling for accountability for those responsible and for ensuring respect for human rights principles.
