It was Father Van Der Lugt who told René - struggling in a deeply conservative environment - that he was a normal human being, that Jesus loved him whatever his sexual orientation was.

There’s so much room for creativity and wonder and scope if you can get the human story working, which is the most important thing to me.

The brutal conflict, a 20-month power struggle pitting Sudan's military authorities against their former RSF allies, has been condemned by human rights groups for widespread atrocities committed by both sides.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident on Sunday as "one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being".

But a complicating factor here is that Saudi Arabia, although considered a friend and ally of the West, has a poor human rights record.