The National Umma Party (NUP) will organise a protest against the detention of its leader Sadig El Mahdi who criticised paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for attacking villages in Darfur and the Nuba Mountains and raping women.
Security officers arrested the former prime minister of Sudan on Saturday night. He is accused of ‘undermining the constitution’ and ‘opposing the regime’, according to his party.
El Mahdi is held in Kober prison. His spokesman, Mohamed Zaki, informed the press that his party will not continue with the national dialogue organised by President Omar El Bashir as long as their leader is under arrest.
The party will mobilise its supporters to protest the detention. He considers the action as a serious provocation. Saturday, El Mahdi told his supporters that the government might face a popular uprising and a non-violent revolution, if the national dialogue fails.
Last Thursday, the NUP leader was ordered to Sajana security office in Khartoum, and interrogated for half an hour to confirm his accusation about crimes against civilians by RSF.
The paramilitary RSF are compiled of Janjaweed, fighters of the Popular Defence Forces, and newly recruited troups. The RSF are directly commanded by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS).
On Saturday, El Mahdi told a crowd of supporters in Gezira State that the national security is not allowed to run a complete army, and that the RSF are unconstitutional. The speaker of the parliament has accused El Mahdi of treason, a crime that can lead to capital punishment, his lawyer explained on Sunday morning.
Photo: Protests against the questioning of Sadig El Mahdi on Thursday at the national security offices in Khartoum on Thursday
Reporting by Radio Dabanga