Sudanese Congress Party leaders detained by NISS

Agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) held the head of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCP) and two other leading members in the North Kordofan capital on Sunday morning.

The spokesman for the party, Mohamed Hassan Arabi, reported in a statement on Sunday, that SCP President Omar El Digeir was held by security officers in El Obeid at 8:30 am on Sunday, a few hours after former party leader Ibrahim El Sheikh and head of the SCP Human Rights Secretariat Jalal Mustafa were detained in Khartoum.

According to the statement, El Digeir travelled from Khartoum to El Obeid to visit the head of the party’s regional council Mohamed Nour Terab who was detained in Sodari in the northern part of the state.

Arabi stated that the arrest of the party leaders will not resolve the regime’s crises. He further emphasised that “The continuous violations of the party's right to freedom of expression and opinion makes us more committed to our work to save our country and help the people find peace, liberties, and a decent living”.

'Sadistic'

The Reform Now Movement, an opposition party established in 2014 by dissidents of the ruling National Congress Party, also denounced “the ongoing NISS campaign against political freedoms”.

In a statement on Sunday, the party called for the immediate release of the SCP leaders.

The party considers the NISS actions “a sadistic attempt to cover up the economic catastrophe in the country, that is caused by irresponsible government policies”. The detentions of opposition leaders and the gagging of the press are “contrary to all divine laws, international laws, human rights, and the outcomes of Sudan’s National Dialogue”.