Legal Group Says RSF Extorting Families for Release of Detainees

Nyala, April 25, 2026 - A Sudanese legal advocacy group has accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of extorting money from families in exchange for the release of civilian detainees held at Dagrees prison in Nyala, South Darfur, describing the practice as a pattern of systematic abuse. The Emergency Lawyers group said that recent releases of detainees were carried out in return for cash payments, alleging that families were forced to provide ransom money under coercive conditions. The RSF, which has established Nyala as the center of its parallel administrative authority in Darfur, has faced growing domestic and international criticism over its governance structures and detention practices. Human rights monitors report a sharp increase in arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances across Darfur since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, with civilians held in conditions described as severely lacking legal oversight and humanitarian access. Dagrees prison, located approximately 25 kilometres west of Nyala, has been cited in multiple reports as a site of serious abuse, including allegations of mistreatment of detainees and prolonged incommunicado detention. According to the legal group, some detainees were permitted to contact relatives to request payment for their release, with arrests reportedly carried out in areas under current or former RSF control. The statement said detainees have endured prolonged confinement in conditions that fall far below minimum international standards, calling the practice a serious violation of human rights and humanitarian law. It further warned that linking release to financial payment could constitute elements of trafficking and illicit profiteering. The group stressed that such releases do not exempt perpetrators from future legal accountability and called for investigations into detention practices and conditions in RSF-run facilities.