On December 23, 2018, Omar Idriss was on his way home from a barbershop located close to where a peaceful protest was being held, when members of the security and armed forces stopped him and ordered him to get into a military pickup truck.

The officers refused to provide him with any information when he asked them why he was being stopped. After trying to escape, Idriss was caught and forced into the vehicle, where he was violently beaten and then transferred to a second vehicle that belonged to the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS).

The security forces continued to violently beat him and question him about the whereabouts of his father, a well-known political activist who had taken part in the protests. He was thrown out of the vehicle onto a street far away from his place of residence after having his shoes and all of his money confiscated.

In recent years, Idriss’ family has been under constant surveillance by the NISS due to his father’s political activism. In December 2017, his father was detained for a month after participating in a demonstration. The NISS have previously raided the family’s house multiple times to arrest his father without presenting any warrant.

The temporary deprivation of liberty and the violent beating of Idriss are part of the violent crackdown on the nationwide protests that have been taking place in Sudan since mid-December 2018.