Kobar Prison (), formerly known as Cooper prison, is one of the oldest prisons in Sudan, dating back to 1903. It was built by the administration of the former

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ') was a condominium (international law), condominium of the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereig ...

(1899–1956) and was named '''Kobar''' in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

after the British official Cooper, who was in charge of the prison’s early administration. Since its establishment, it has been Sudan's most notorious prison. It consists of six sections, and it was infamous for being the detention center for thousands of prisoners of conscience and politicians. In 2019, former President

Omar al-Bashir Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Head of state of Sudan, Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in 2019 Sudanese c ...

was taken to this prison after having been overthrown in a coup d'etat. In April 2023, during the

2023 Sudan conflict 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

, a series of mass escapes occurred at many Sudanese prisons, including Kobar prison.

Description

The prison was built with bricks and is guarded by high concrete walls and can hold hundreds of prisoners in its small and overcrowded cells. Its surface area is about five thousand square meters and was designed like prisons in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

of the early 20th century. There is a special wing for political prisoners that has been used for the

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

of former politicians or other well-known Sudanese personalities. During the government of Omar al-Bashir, the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) was in charge of the prison's administration. It is located in the city of

Khartoum North Khartoum North, or Khartoum Bahri or simply Bahri (), is a city in Khartoum State, lying to the north of Khartoum city, the capital of Sudan. It has a population of 1,012,211 people, making it the third-largest city proper in Sudan, behind the ...

in the Kobar neighborhood, near the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major Tributary, tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the wa ...

and next to the

Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

Notable inmates

(2019–2023), deposed

President of Sudan This article lists the heads of state of Sudan since the country's independence in 1956. History of the office Since independence was proclaimed on 1 January 1956, six individuals (and three multi-member sovereignty councils) have served as ...

Amin Mekki Medani Amin Mekki Medani (2 February 1939 – 31 August 2018) (Arabic: د. ٱمين مكي مدني) was a Sudanese lawyer, diplomat, human rights and political activist. He was the president of the Confederation of Sudanese Civil Society, Vice Pres ...

, politician and human rights activist (2014–2015) *

Farouk Abu Issa Farouk Abu Issa (; 12 August 1933 – 12 April 2020) was a Sudanese politician and the Chairman of the National Consensus Forces. Abu Issa attended the prestigious Hantoub Secondary School and was involved in activism from a young age; he joined ...

, former chairman of the

National Consensus Forces The National Consensus Forces (NCF, ''Ij’maa'') is a coalition of political parties in Sudan that opposed the rule of the National Congress Party, and was initially formed to stand against the NCP in the 2010 Sudanese elections. Farouk Abu Is ...

(2014) * Usamah Mohamad, blogger, and

citizen journalist Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism, grassroots journalism, or street journalism, is based upon members of the community playing an active role in the pro ...

(2012) * Hassan al-Turabi, former religious and political leader (2009) * Ibrahim el-Salahi, painter and former government official (1976) * Abdel Khaliq Mahjub, former Secretary General of the

Sudanese Communist Party The Sudanese Communist Party ( abbr. SCP; ) is a communist party in Sudan. Founded in 1946, it was a major force in Sudanese politics in the early post-independence years, and was one of the two most influential communist parties in the Arab ...

, executed by hanging (1971) *

Sadiq al-Mahdi Sadiq al-Mahdi (; 25 December 1935 – 26 November 2020), also known as Sadiq as-Siddiq, was a Sudanese political and religious figure who was Prime Minister of Sudan from 1966 to 1967 and again from 1986 to 1989. He was head of the National Um ...

, former prime minister and politician (1970)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobar Prison Khartoum North Prisons in Sudan Architecture in Sudan 1903 establishments in Sudan