Libya detains Sudanese Consul after prison visit

The Sudanese consul in Libya was detained by Libyan authorities on Wednesday.

In response, the Foreign Ministry in Khartoum summoned the Libyan ambassador, handed him Sudan’s official protest, and demanded the consul’s immediate release.

In a press conference, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Ali El Sadig, called the detention of Consul Abdelhaleem Omar “unacceptable”, and a “violation of the international diplomatic codes”.

He told the press that the consul was visiting a prison in El Beidaa on Wednesday, to investigate the status of a number of Sudanese nationals held in custody in the prison for almost one year without charge or access to legal aid.

Consul Omar was held by police as he left the prison and taken to an unknown destination. The reasons for his detention are unclear.

Last month, the Sudanese economic attaché in Libya was abducted by an unknown group. He was released two weeks later.