Intelligence agents in Sudan reportedly arrested and tortured at least seven Christians northeast of the capital city of Khartoum.
The Sudanese Christian Youth Union reported to Morning Star News, a nonprofit news outlet that focuses on the global persecution of Christians, that members of the Sudanese Church of Christ were looking for refuge in areas dominated by the Sudan Armed Forces.
Agents of the Military Intelligence accused the Christians on Jan. 14 of aiding the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, but the Christians denied those claims, per Morning Star News.
Sudan is currently in a civil war between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, displacing millions and forcing others to leave the country as refugees.
The claims were merely an excuse to target the Christians, the Sudanese Christian Youth Union argued.
Shinbago Mugaddam, a Christian attorney, told Morning Star News that the Military Intelligence tortured the believers into confessing to the crime.
“They were arrested by the army intelligence and were subjected to beatings and interrogations,” Mugaddam contended.
The lawyer is currently residing in another country as a refugee.
He added that “a case was opened against them where the complainant and the witnesses for the accusation were all members of the armed forces.”
“The court did not ask them whether they needed a lawyer or had witnesses to deny this incident, knowing that they were beaten and forced to confess and provide evidence against themselves,” he continued.
The Sudanese Christian Youth Union called for their release and called for human rights groups to do the same.
Persecution targeted toward Christians is well-documented in Sudan, which currently ranks fifth on the world watch list published every year by Open Doors.
The nonprofit noted that Christian leaders are “targeted by false charges, including terrorism and apostasy,” even though the apostasy law in the predominantly Islamic nation was overturned five years ago.
“Converts from Islam face violence, imprisonment, forced marriage, rejection, sexual violence, disinheritance, and losing custody of their children,” the nonprofit said.
“Many are forced to flee their homes, or feel that staying is unsustainable.”
Christians who live in areas with especially intense fighting are more likely to see persecution, especially as Islamic militants take advantage of the war to eliminate Christianity in Sudan.
“The scope and intensity of pressure on Christians have grown substantially this year, as the civil war has introduced extreme levels of violence and hardship,” Open Doors added.
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