Rally as Sudanese opposition leaders face court

Politicians, lawyers, and civil society activists rallied in front of the Khartoum North criminal court this morning, in support of Faroug Abu Eisa, head of the National Consensus Forces (NCF), and Dr Amin Mekki Madani, chairman of the Civil Society Initiative (CSI), who made their second court appearance today.

The two opposition leaders, both lawyers, have been charged by the National Intelligence and Security Service of violating the constitution and fomenting war against the state. The charges were laid after they signed the Sudan Appeal, together with the National Umma Party and the main rebel movements, allied in the Sudan Revolutionary Front, in Addis Ababa on 3 December.

Their supporters chanted slogans such as “Freedom, peace, and revolt are choices of the people”, “Long live Abu Eisa, long live Madani”, and “The Sudan Appeal is the people’s appeal”.

Symbols

Mohamed Yagoub Shaddad, representative of the Democratic Unionist Party at the NCF management committee told Dabanga that Abu Eisa and Madani have become symbols of the people’s struggle against the government’s continuing oppression.

He pointed to the presence of many young people among their supporters. “This means in fact that they support the Sudan Appeal, calling for regime change. We hope that this support will spread over all the country.”

Dr Aisha Khalil El Karib, the founder of a well-known Sudanese development organisation, and leading member of the CSI, told Dabanga that the symbolic sit-in “constitutes not only a gesture of solidarity with Abu Eisa and Madani, but also expresses demands for democracy and respect for human rights in Sudan”.

Registration status

In the courtroom, the prosecutor read statements made by both opposition leaders during their interrogations, in which they admitted to signing the Sudan Appeal.

He also pointed to the complaint filed by the security apparatus against the two other signatories of the Sudan Appeal, El Sadig El Mahdi, head of the National Umma Party, and Minni Arko Minawi, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement-MM, who are currently out of the country.

The prosecutor, a police lieutenant-colonel, furthermore submitted various documents to the court including the Sudan Appeal, and the registration status of the “National Consensus Forces Alliance”, signed by Abu Eisa, and the “Confederation of Civil Society Organisations”, signed by Madani. The “relevant government institutions” declared that “both organisations” were never officially registered.

The defence team, headed by lawyer Omar Abdelaati, requested access to the transcripts of the trial and the submitted documents, in order to respond at the next session scheduled for Thursday.

Photos 1 and 2 below: participants of the rally in front of the criminal court in Khartoum North.
Photo 3: The detained Faroug Abu Eisa and Dr Amin Mekki Madani appear in court.