Sudanese military release more political detainees

November 26, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – Four former Sudanese senior officials and political leaders have been released on  Friday after announcing a hunger strike.

The fourth batch of freed political detainees includes former Cabinet Minister Khalid Omer Youssif, former Governor of Khartoum State Ayman Khaled,  Financial Commissioner of the Empowerment Removal Committee Maher Abu al-Goukh and Political Secretary of the Sudanese Congress Party, Sharif Mohamed Osman.

Their release intervened hours after a statement announcing an open-ended hunger strike to protest one-month arbitrary detention after the coup d’etat of October 25.

The Commander in Chief of the Sudanese army Abdel Fattah al-Burhan pledged to free the political detainees except those who are charged with a criminal offence.

Mohamed al-Faki, a Sovereign Council Member, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Minister of Industry, FFC Spokesman and leading member of the Unionist Alliance Gaafar Hassan, and Wajdi Saleh Rapporteur of the Empowerment Removal Committee are still in custody.

The former detainees said they were held at a General Intelligence Service detention facility. Under the Constitutional Document, the agency has a very limited detention power supervised by the Attorney General.

General al-Burhan and Prime Minister signed a political agreement on 21 November providing to release immediately all the political detainees arrested after the coup and to ensure fundamental rights including the right to protests.

(ST)