Darfur lawyers call foul as coup accused released

Lawyers from the Darfur Bar Association have accused the Khartoum government of “blatant discrimination” after the early release of 2004 coup leader Yusuf Mohamed Saleh Libis, as well as those accused of “plotting a coup” last November were released and charges against them dropped this week. A spokesman for the Bar Association said that the release last week of Sudan’s former National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) chief Salah Gosh, his aide Major General Salah Ahmed Abdalla as well as the release of several civilian and military accused over the last three months, is “an example of the regional and social discrimination practiced by Khartoum”. He cited the early release of Libis after serving 12 years of a 15-year sentence as another example. The lawyer juxtaposed the release by decree of President Omar Al Bashir of Gosh, Libis and the others against the plight of 18 women from the Nuba Mountains who are being detained in Obeid, capital of North Kordofan “without access to due legal process”. “Practices like this weaken national unity and social cohesion,” the lawyer said. “This also reveals differences in the rights and freedoms in the country, and illustrates a lack of equality.” The members of the Bar Association demand the immediate release of all the detained women. The women are: Taysir Abdul Gadir; Hawua Kubara Musaad; Zarouq Ahammed; AL-Radiea Suliman Tia; Amal Abdualfadel Kuku; Zeinab Musa; Fatima Subahi; Sumia Mirgani; Ehsan Ibrahim; Om Alhassan Abuzeid; Samia Ahmed Zaroug; Fatima Mohamed Ali Gabir; Hiba Abdurhaman; Rawia Musa; Esmahan Ramadan Makki; Wigdan Ibrahim; Afaf Madani Naser; Maha Ali. File Photo Related: Detained women on hunger strike in North Kordofan prison, Sudan (14 May 2013)Tanks appear in Khartoum after arrest of generals and security officers (22 November 2012)