Trial of ‘Leave!’ campaigners in eastern Sudan postponed

The trial against seven members of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) in Sennar, eastern Sudan, was adjourned on Monday.

The activists were detained in Sinja, Sennar state, on 12 February, when they were preparing a public forum on the “Leave!” campaign, launched by the NCF earlier that month, against the national elections scheduled to commence on 13 April. The campaign aims at collecting signatures from citizens all over the country, to support the call for the departure of the government.

Member of the defence team Israa Adam Omar told Dabanga that the case against El Mahi Suleiman, member of the Sudanese Congress Party, Marwan Nugdallah, of the National Umma Party (NUP), Abu Obeida Saeed, of the Sudanese Communist Party, and four students of the University of Sennar, members of the Umma Party and the Communist Party, has been adjourned to 8 March because of the absence, “for reasons unknown”, of the prosecutor.

She said that the defendants were detained by security officers in Sinja while they were preparing the forum. “After that, they were transferred to the police station of Sennar. They were released after one week in custody, after the charges were annulled, following a request by the defence lawyers. The prosecutor agreed.

“We were therefore surprised to hear that another, more high-ranking prosecutor, pressed charges against them, and ordered their arrest, without notifying us.” 

Omar added that the judge approved the request by the defence for the release of the defendants pending their trial.