Sudanese businessman tortured by RSF calls out British inaction

International silence over Sudan’s devastating civil war has been spotlighted by a Sudanese-Dutch businessman, who draws on his own experience of torture in Khartoum to demand sanctions on those responsible.

Yaslam Altayeb, a Sudanese-Dutch businessman who was detained and tortured by the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at the outset of Sudan’s civil war in 2023, has appealed to the British and Dutch governments to sanction 23 individuals complicit in the crime, reports Middle East Eye on July 21. 

Altayeb, who now lives in the UK, was detained for 15 days in a military base in Khartoum. He was subjected to frequent physical abuse, which worsened his diabetes and left him with chronic pain. He was also convinced multiple times that he would be executed, an experience that has since led to a PTSD diagnosis.

Sudan’s brutal civil war erupted out of a conflict between the RSF and Sudan’s army (SAF). The conflict has since displaced more than 12 million people, and is already one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Altayeb’s legal team has now petitioned both the British and Dutch foreign ministries to sanction senior RSF officials, including commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known by his nom de guerre, Hemedti, and his brother, Abdul Rahim.

The proposed sanctions would target individuals linked to the RSF’s funding and military support network, and their acquisition of weapons and training from external groups. Currently, seven Sudanese individuals are on the UK sanctions list, but none occupy high-ranking positions within the RSF or Sudan’s military.

The petition highlights that Altayeb’s suffering reflects the broader atrocities committed by the RSF, which several human rights organizations have accused of crimes against humanity.

Currently, seven Sudanese individuals are on the UK sanctions list, but none occupy high-ranking positions within the RSF or Sudan’s military. The case brings to light the lack of international deterrence to blatant human rights abuses in Sudan.

As Altayeb’s case gains attention, other detainees from the RSF’s detention centers are reportedly preparing to speak out and call for similar measures against those responsible for the war’s devastating toll.

Middle East Eye/ Maghrebi