The decision by Sudanese authorities to detain Former Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok who now heads of the leadership body of the Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces, also known as Tagadum, along with others, has ignited widespread criticism and denunciation.
The Sudanese Attorney General’s office issued arrest warrants for Hamdok and other leaders of the civil democratic forces, calling on them to surrender to the nearest police station.
The Attorney General’s decision was based on a complaint filed by the National Committee for War Crimes and Violations by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which lodged a case in a court in Port Sudan under articles related to waging war against the state, incitement, collaboration, and undermining the constitutional system.
Among the prominent figures detained are Yassir Arman, Khalid Omar, Siddiq Alsadiq, Mariam Al-Mahdi, and journalist Shauki Abdelazim.
Almoez Hadara, a member of the Freedom and Change Forces’ legal body, criticized the move, describing it as malicious. He questioned the nature and composition of the National Committee, and its claim to national status, and questioned who granted it the authority to file complaints and prosecute.
According to Hadara, under the Law of Criminal Procedure, no one has the right to form a committee for prosecution.
“The Attorney General has become a tool just as the National Congress Party used it to eliminate political opponents, using it also against its members who disagreed with it, under the pretext of legalizing violations,” he charged. “I believe that the decision to file the complaint came in response to Islamist groups and others on social media, and in response to recent remarks by Yassir Al-Atta regarding the prosecution’s actions.”
A Sudanese political analyst, Essam-Eldeen Khadir, told Radio Tamazuj that he believes the detention memo issued by the Prosecutor General’s office under the Port Sudan government is not surprising. He contends that the move is legally worthless but politically harmful.
“This move came to block the resumption of the Jeddah negotiations scheduled to resume on 28 April, as announced by the American envoy to Sudan,” Khadir stated. “The government does not have control; hence, its decisions are confused and inconsistent.”