Darfur rebels in Kober prison announce hunger strike

Four Darfuri detained in Kober prison in Khartoum, announced a full hunger strike until their case is brought to court. They will lift their strike during the first hearing of the trial. The four detainees, Mahmoud Adam Mahmoud, Abu El Gasim Ahmed Mohamed, Adel Hassan Yagoub, and Omda Mustafa Suleiman, are members of the Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Minni Minawi. They were arrested in January last year, on charges of killing civilians in Gireida, South Darfur. They were transferred to Kober prison on 18 April 2013, and have been awaiting their trial since then. The prisoners sent a letter to the director of Kober prison this week, Sudanese newspapers reported. “We demand the immediate transfer of their case’s documents to a competent court. If it turns out that sufficient evidence is lacking, we should be released without bail”. In the letter the prisoners protest against the continued renewal of their detention by the Attorney General for Crimes in Darfur, without being brought to justice. “The last renewal will end the 18th of this month, thus by far exceeding the allowed legal limit for detention.” They also point to the fact that other suspects in the same case are not arrested, and working with “the regular armed forces”. File photo Related: ‘Darfuri detainees in Kober prison tortured’: relative (23 February 2013)