Six detained Sudanese artists released

All six FEED Arts members who were still held in prison in Omdurman have been released yesterday. The release was based on a request to annul their sentence submitted by the defence.

11 FEED Arts members were charged on August 10 with endangering public safety and creating public disturbance by protesting when a policeman took photos of the women artists in the group and chanting in a police cell. The FEED Arts group was rehearsing for a theatrical performance in El Zohour in central Khartoum, leading neighbours to file a complaint with the police, which they later withdrew.

Five members of the group, among them film director Hajooj Kuka, were sentenced to two months of imprisonment and a fine of SDG5,000 on September 17. A week later, six more artists were convicted to two months imprisonment and a fine of SDG5,000.  

On October 1, the first five members of the group were released after the Court of Appeal annulled the sentence. They started an ‘artistic sit-in’ in front of the Omdurman Women’s Prison on Monday.

Resistance Committees active in in Omdurman organised ceremonial events when the remaining six prisoners were released yesterday.

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