Sudan’s Hamdok moved from custody to house arrest
October 26, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok has been released from custody on Tuesday evening and is now under house arrest, the U.S. State Department confirmed.
Hamdok was in a detention facility at the command of the Sudanese army with his wife for more than 24 hours, after the military takeover on Monday morning.
Reports from Khartoum on Tuesday evening announced his escorted return to his residence where he is under house arrest and heavily armed forces have been deployed around his house.
But there was no official statement about this development.
The first confirmation came from Washington as the State Department issued a statement saying Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a telephone conversation with him after his return to his house.
“The Secretary welcomed the Prime Minister’s release from custody and reiterated his call on Sudanese military forces to release all civilian leaders in detention and to ensure their safety,” reads the statement.
Blinken “expressed his deep concern about the ongoing military takeover and repeated the imperative for military forces to use restraint and avoid violence in responding to demonstrators,” further said the spokesperson.
Hamdok was at a detention facility near al-Burhan’s residence at the Sudanese army general command in Khartoum.
In his first press conference on Tuesday after the takeover, al-Burhan said Hamdok had been detained at his house for his own safety.
The Sudanese general warned that other detained government officials and political leaders could face trial.
The international community and regional bodies condemned the reversal of the transitional government in Sudan and called for the release of the detained officials.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Tuesday repeated his strong condemnation for the forceful military takeover of power in Sudan and called for the release of Hamdok and the other political detainees.
“It is true that Sudan has achieved important milestones; they cannot be reversed. And so, it is essential that all transitional arrangements and institutions as defined in the constitutional document be reinstated,” he stressed.
(ST)