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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
The Sudanese internal security and intelligence apparatus
evolved into a feared and hated institution after Nimeiri came to
power in 1969. During the period of Revolutionary Command Council
rule (1969-71), the military intelligence organization was
expanded to investigate domestic opposition groups. After the
council was abolished, the organization's responsibilities
focused on evaluating and countering threats to the regime from
the military. It also provided a 400-man Presidential Guard.
The Office of State Security was established by decree in
1971 within the Ministry of Interior. The new agency was charged
with evaluating information gathered by the police and military
intelligence; it was also responsible for prison administration
and passport control. The sensitive central security file and
certain other intelligence functions were, however, maintained
under the president's control. In 1978 the presidential and
Ministry of Interior groups were merged to form the State
Security Organisation (SSO). Under the direction of Minister of
State Security Umar Muhammad at Tayyib, a retired army major
general and close confidant of the president, the SSO became a
prominent feature of the Nimeiri regime, employing about 45,000
persons and rivaling the armed forces in size. This apparatus was
dismantled in 1985.
According to the United States Department of State's
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1990,
government surveillance, which was previously rare, became
intense after the 1989 coup. Efforts were made to prevent contact
between Sudanese and foreigners. Civilians, especially suspected
dissidents, were harassed, church services were monitored, and
activities of journalists were closely supervised. Neighborhood
"popular committees" used their control over the rationing system
to monitor households.
The Bashir government created a new security body. Generally
referred to as "Islamic Security" or "Security of the
Revolution," it was under the direct control of a member of the
RCC-NS. Its purpose was to protect the Bashir regime against
internal plots and to act as a watchdog over other security
forces and the military. It quickly became notorious for
indiscriminate arrests of suspected opponents of the regime and
for torturing them in its own safe houses before turning them
over to prison authorities for further detention. A similar
organization, Youth for Reconstruction, mobilized younger Islamic
activists.
Data as of June 1991
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