Dozens of Islamists demonstrate in Khartoum demanding release of detainees

April 30, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – More than a dozen members from the pro-Islamist group known as Sa’ihoon staged a demonstration in downtown Khartoum today, calling for the release of the former director of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) chief Salah Gosh and five other detainees accused in a last year’s thwarted coup attempt against Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.

According to eyewitnesses, protesters held banners saying “Free detainees” and chanted anti-government slogans. But riots police quickly intervened using “excessive force” to disperse the protestors and arrested a handful of the demonstrators who were later released.

The demonstration was joined by a number of ordinary people who starting shouting anti-government slogans demanding economic reforms.

Authorities announced last November that they had arrested 13 suspects, including ex-spy chief Gosh and Brigadier General Mohamed Ibrahim Abdel-Galil who at one point served on Bashir’s security detail on suspicion of plotting a coup.

Earlier this month a military court sentenced seven army officers to prison terms of up to five years and dismissed them from service in connection with the coup attempt. However, Sudanese president later commuted the sentences and had them released from prison immediately.

On Sunday, Bashir pardoned six NISS officers who were sentenced to various jail terms last week on the same charges.

The decree did not include Gosh who remains detained without charges and has yet to stand trial.

Sources say that authorities are reluctant to release him given the secrets he has the regime during his time as spy chief.

A spokesperson for the protesters said that police confronted them with extreme cruelty and accused authorities of trying to eliminate the Sa’ihoon group which calls for comprehensive reforms.

“This is not the end of protests; we will demonstrate next Friday at the University of Khartoum’s mosque in order to free the whole country” he said.

The Sa’ihoon group, which means ‘God-seeking wanderers’ in Arabic, is a loose association of committed Islamists and former Popular Defense Forces (PDF) combatants.

The group believes that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) does not intend to undertake comprehensive reforms and is not serious about fighting corruption and wants it held accountable for poor government performance, collapse of the economy and the prolonged wars in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile.

(ST)