National dialogue committee condemns arrest of opposition leaders

December 7, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The national dialogue mechanism on Sunday condemned the arrest of opposition leader Farouk Abu Issa and rights defender Amin Makki Madani, and called for their immediate release.

The co-spokesperson of the dialogue mechanism known also as (7+7), Fadel Alsid Shuaib, stated their rejection of the arrest of the two leaders for the signing of a statement with the rebels, adding they are resolved to ask the competent authorities over the legal basis of their detention.

“The national dialogue roadmap provides that only the judiciary is entrusted to deal with the publication and expression issues,” said Shuaib who was speaking following a meeting of the dialogue mechanism on Sunday.

“Arrests must be carried out in accordance with the criminal law,” he further stressed.

The 7+7 committee includes members of the government and opposition parties. It coordinates the activities of political forces that are participating in the dialogue process initiated by president Omer al-Bashir.

Abu Issa and Amin Makki Madani have been arrested since last Saturday after their return from Addis Ababa where they signed a declaration for peace and democracy, Sudan Call.

The National Consensus Forces, which is chaired by Abu Issa, refuses to take part in the internal process before the conclusion of the rebel groups and release of political freedoms in the country.

There is no official statement from the Sudanese security service about the detention of Abu Issa and Madani, but the government says contacts with the rebels impact negatively on the morale of its soldiers who are fighting rebels.

The leader of the opposition National Umma Party, Sadiq al-Mahdi, resides in Cairo since last August after the signing of the Paris Declaration.

Further, the security authorities have confiscated Sunday’s issue of al-Majhar al-Siyassi for publishing an interview with the rebel Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) deputy chairman al-Tom Hajo.

(ST)