Khartoum: Rhino – SEMA Center for the Protection of Women and Children’s Rights submitted on Friday an urgent memorandum to the British authorities on November 22, 2024, demanding immediate legal action against a Sudanese man convicted of child rape crimes who participated in the demonstration against the leaders of the Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces (Taqaddam) in London.

According to the memorandum, Zaher Hassan Bakhit, a Sudanese national convicted of child rape under Article 45(b) of the Sudanese Child Law of 2010, appeared in video recordings confirming his presence in Britain, during a pro-war demonstration organized by the Islamic Movement in London.

Bakhit escaped from Al-Huda prison in Omdurman, following the opening of prisons in Sudan after the outbreak of the war.

The center stressed in its statement that the opening of prisons to those convicted of serious cases such as child rape crimes after the outbreak of the war in Sudan in mid-April 2023 posed a serious threat to the safety of children and is one of the grave violations of the ongoing war in Sudan.

The center called on the British authorities to take urgent action to protect children and ensure accountability. He emphasized that ending the war and achieving peace is a basic necessity to protect children and stop the violations committed against them.