Detained El Mahdi warns of unrest in Sudan

On Saturday evening, Imam El Sadig El Mahdi, the head of the National Umma Party (NUP), was detained at his home in El Mulazimin in Omdurman, and taken to Kober prison in Khartoum North. The National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) had accused the Umma Party leader of “disrespecting the prestige of the state, discrediting the regular armed forces, inciting the international community against Sudan”, and the spreading of false news, “causing unrest among the regular troops, and breaching public peace”. Last week, El Mahdi had strongly denounced the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by the NISS, and accused the militias of committing war crimes in Darfur, recruiting non-Sudanese nationals, and operating beyond the scope of the regular armed troops. Kamal El Jizouli, the lawyer who accompanied El Mahdi to Kober prison, told the press on Sunday that the prosecution decided to add two criminal charges to the already four charges raised against the Imam last week: “Article 50 of the Criminal Code, referring to undermining the constitutional order, with a punishment that includes the death penalty, and article 63, which refers to the call for violently opposing public authority. These two articles do not allow the release of the accused with a normal bail.” From Kober prison, El Mahdi sent a written note to his supporters, saying that his detention has made him review his political position. “The requirements for a political solution in Sudan have to be re-determined and re-planned,” he stated. The NUP leader wrote that his detention was ‘carried out by the hawks of the regime and some state organs’, warning that the political and economic situation, as well as the rampant insecurity in Sudan may open the door widely to violent counterattacks, military coups, and popular uprisings. He called for the formation of a large meeting, attended by all political and civil forces, in order to “demand public freedoms, and to agree on means of expression in support of his position”. Responses In response to the detention of their leader, the NUP withdrew its commitment to the National Dialogue, called for by the President Omar Al Bashir. The party demanded from El Mahdi’s son, Abdel Rahman El Sadig, to resign from his post as Assistant to the President. The Umma Party leadership, in cooperation with the Ansar Affairs Association, also called upon El Mahdi’s followers and supporters to protest against the detention of the Imam. The Ansar Affairs Association will mobilise its organs in all states of Sudan, and will warn them for “any emergency”. Officials of the ruling National Congress Party have downplayed the detention, saying that it was only a summons by the prosecution and the police to complete the interrogation on previous charges. They did acknowledge, however, that new charges have been added against El Mahdi. The Sudanese Communist Party has demanded an immediate drop of the charges, and El Mahdi’s release, in a statement on Sunday. “This detention happened in a time during which people call for fundamental freedoms, and intend to prepare for a conducive climate for a productive National Dialogue. Such kinds of detentions are not going to solve the crisis in Sudan. They increase its severity instead.” The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) also denounced the detention, and appealed to all its members to unite with the adherents of the Umma Party, and the Imam’s Ansar (followers), and “confront the police state regime, and call for the release of all Sudanese political detainees”. The SPLM-N also called upon “all forces of change, and freedom-loving organisations to intensify their campaign against the repressive regime in Khartoum, and topple it in order to build a Sudan of equal citizenship that accommodates everyone”. The chairman of the Sudanese Committee for the Sudanese Committee for Solidarity with the Families of the Killed, Wounded and Prisoners, and one of the leaders of the Communist Party, Siddig Yousif, also called for the release of all political prisoners. Yousif holds the Sudanese government fully responsible for the health of the political detainees. “What the regime has done and is doing violates the Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. File photo: El Sadig El Mahdi Related:Sudan’s National Consensus Forces support El Mahdi (18 May 2014) Umma Party to organise protest in Sudan after arrest of its leader (18 May 2014) El Mahdi questioned for condemning RSF attacks in Darfur (15 May 2014) Umma Party leader charged by Sudan security, SPLM-N warns of new militia recruits (14 May 2014)