Sudanese police released two contradicting statements regarding one of their vehicles running over a protester to death, in demonstrations that took place in Khartoum.
Khartoum: AlTaghyeer
The Sudanese police said on Friday that it has launched an investigation into one of its vehicles running over a protester to death in the capital, Khartoum.
The Khartoum State Police had claimed in a statement on Thursday that the deceased Mujtaba Abdel Salam was killed as a result of a “traffic accident” during the May 5th protests in Khartoum.
According to a separate statement by the Ministry of the Interior, the Presidency of the Police Forces confirmed that it was conducting what it had described as a “fair and transparent investigation.”
The statement claimed that the “running-over crime” was an individual act, describing what was reported as “recklessness” by police patrol driver.
The police did not bring any of its member to public trial, despite the killing of 95 demonstrators since the October 25 coup, and the practice of other, largely documented, grave violations.
Unprecedented Brutality
In this context, the former Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Khaled Omar, said in a tweet on Friday that “the horrific running-over incident in which the martyr Mujtaba Abdel Salam fell in yesterday’s processions is an extension of the unprecedented brutality faced by our rebellious people valiantly.”
The Ministry of Interior’s statement also referred to a video clip of an unidentified individual person in civilian clothes carrying a handgun, preparing to shoot, in effort to find out his identity and bring him to justice as quickly as possible.
Past Lies
This is not the first incident in which the police denied responsibility for crimes committed by its agents.
In the November 13 million in Khartoum North, in which over 14 peaceful demonstrators were killed, police director Khaled Mahdi said that ” only one person was killed” despite the emergence of videos documenting the police shooting towards protesters.
On Friday, thousands of people attended the burial of Mujtaba Abdel Salam in his hometown of Karima, north of Sudan.
