Sudanese lawyers on Wednesday staged a vigil in front of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) to demand the release of political activists and detainees.
Dozens of lawyers took part in the stand called by the (independent) Emergency Lawyers Association to demand the release of activists and politicians arrested by the authorities, witnesses said.
The Emergency Lawyers’ Association said in a statement that it had handed over a memorandum to the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan during the vigil “to demand the forcible disclosure of the hidden persons and the release of detainees by order of the authority”.
The Sudanese Congress party, one of the parties of the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change (formerly the ruling coalition), said in a statement that the lawyers “raised banners during the vigil demanding the release of detainees held by the coup authorities in Soba detention centre (south of Khartoum) without charge.”
“The coup authorities have been practicing this act since the coup on October 25th,” the statement added.
“Detainees in Soba prison went on hunger strike for the third day to protest the ill-treatment and in solidarity with the revolutionary movement,” he said.
“Some detainees are imprisoned without charge, and others are awaiting delayed investigation, with the aim of exposing them to further psychological and physical harm,” the statement said.
Opposition forces and human rights organizations accuse the Sudanese authorities of arresting political leaders and dozens of activists of the “resistance committees”, while the Sudanese authorities make no comment on the arrests.
On Sunday, the Federal Assembly announced the arrest of former Sovereignty Council member Mohammed al-Fakki Suleiman in Khartoum.
On Saturday, the Troika (Norway, Britain, the United States) and the European Union expressed concern about the “detentions and arrests of many prominent political figures” in Sudan.
This came against the backdrop of the arrest of Sudanese security, On Wednesday, former Minister of Cabinet Affairs Khaled Omar Yusuf, the rapporteur of the committee to dismantle the Bashir regime (1989-2019), Wajdi Saleh, and its Secretary General Tayeb Osman.
Since October 25, 2021, Sudan has been experiencing a political crisis and protests against the coup d’état of army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the civilian partner in the transitional government, and measures, most notably the imposition of a state of emergency and the dissolution of the sovereignty councils and transitional ministers.
