Sudan: Freedom for Political Prisoners?

On April 1st, President Omar al-Bashir announced an intention to free all political prisoners in Sudan. We welcome that announcement, and will be watching closely to see if Bashir follows his words with action. Specifically, we call on the Sudanese government to release all detained individuals who have not been charged with a recognizable criminal offense, and to end all ill-treatment and torture of detained individuals. We demand that the authorities end the harassment, threats and arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights activists, students and others who seek to exercise their right to freedom of expression.

We are urgently awaiting the release of the prisoners of conscience detained in Sudan who are the focus of Amnesty International Urgent Actions (see links on the Sudan action page at http://www.gotb.org/actions-and-issues.html), including: 

• Six opposition members detained in January;
• 32 Nuba women held in Al-Obeid prison;
• Darfuri activist Bakri Moussa Mohammed, who is at risk of execution;
• South Kordofan media spokesperson Omaia Abdel Latif Hassan; and
• Hatim Ali Mohammed (25), who was arrested for attending a rally and is at risk of torture.

As we get ready to make our voices heard at Sudan's Permanent Mission to the UN on April 5th, we urge as many people as possible to tell the Sudanese authorities that these detained individuals must be freed.