Lawyer in South Kordofan gold factory case arrested

A lawyer in Kadugli, South Kordofan has been arrested by the security service on Wednesday.

Ten security service agents arrested Bilal Hamid Kalimni, a lawyer and legal advisor, from his office adjacent to the market in Kadugli.

A witness told Radio Dabanga that the agents entered Kalimni's office, handcuffed him, and transferred him to the office of the security service.

The arrest sparked discontent among lawyers in Kadugli. “It's humiliating, the arrest happened without the consent of the Sudanese Bar Association of lawyers,” a lawyer told Radio Dabanga.

It is worth mentioning that Kalimni represents a landowner in a trial against a company that plans to open a gold factory in Kadugli. The factory would make use of cyanide, a chemical that is harmful to the environment. The plans are opposed by residents of Kadugli, and land owners have already demanded the local government to immediately stop building the factory.

Recently a Sudanese chemical expert expressed alarm that the Sudanese government allows the use of the highly toxic cyanide in mining.