Solidarity Committee demands release of Darfuri blogger

The Sudanese Committee for Solidarity with the Families of the Killed, Wounded and Prisoners during the September demonstrations has demanded the release of activist and blogger Tajeldin Ahmed Arja, who was arrested by the security forces two days ago in the Friendship Hall in Khartoum, or submit him to a fair trial. The chairperson of the Solidarity Committee, Siddig Yusif, told Radio Dabanga that the arrest of Arja is inconsistent with the Constitution, Sudanese law and international conventions. He stressed the need to release the activist immediately or submit him to a fair trial. Yusif holds the authorities responsible for what happens to Arja, who was arrested and transferred to an unknown location after he openly criticised President Omar Al Bashir and the visiting Chadian President Idris Deby about their positions towards Darfur last Tuesday. Tajeldin Ahmed Arja on his Facebook page had called the Darfuri activists in Khartoum to speak out against “the destructive leaders who care about their own interests only” as he put it. He had also launched an attack on the Bashar faction of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM-Bashar) who earlier this year signed the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur.Arja was born in 1987 in Karnoi, North Darfur, and lives in the Murabba’at neighbourhood in Omdurman. File Photo: Tajeldin Ahmed Arja Related: Darfuri blogger publically arrested for criticising Deby and Al Bashir (25 December 2013)