Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/2184376/opposition-deputy-head-detained-sudan-family-says
World/ Africa

Opposition deputy head detained in Sudan, family says

  • Mariam Sadiq al-Mahdi detained as authorities press on with a crackdown on anti-government protests
Mariam al-Mahdi, the deputy chief of the Sudan's main opposition Umma Party, in 2016 in Khartoum. Photo: AFP

Security agents detained a senior leader of Sudan’s main opposition party Wednesday, her family said, as authorities pressed on with a crackdown on anti-government protests that have rocked the country.

The detention of Mariam Sadiq al-Mahdi, deputy chief of the Umma party, comes a day after authorities ordered the release of all detainees held in nationwide protests since December.

Mariam was taken away from her home in Khartoum by officers of the powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), her sister Rabah Sadiq al-Mahdi said.

“The NISS officers came in two vehicles at 10.30am. They told Mariam’s husband that they had to question her,” Rabah said.

“The officers said they would bring her back but she still has not returned and her mobile phone is switched off.”

As Umma’s deputy head, Mariam has regularly campaigned against President Omar al-Bashir’s government.

Her father, former premier Sadiq al-Mahdi, has backed the protest movement calling for an end to Bashir’s three-decade rule.

Sudanese opposition figure Sadiq al-Mahdi addresses his supporters after he returned from nearly a year in self-imposed exile in Khartoum, Sudan, on December 19. Photo: Reuters
Sudanese opposition figure Sadiq al-Mahdi addresses his supporters after he returned from nearly a year in self-imposed exile in Khartoum, Sudan, on December 19. Photo: Reuters

Bashir swept to power in 1989 in an Islamist-backed coup that toppled a democratically elected government led by Mahdi.

“This regime has to go immediately,” Mahdi told hundreds of worshippers at a mosque in Omdurman at weekly prayers on Friday.

After nearly a year in exile, Mahdi returned to Sudan on December 19, the same day as the wave of protests erupted against the government.

On Tuesday, NISS head Salah Ghosh had ordered the release of all detainees held during anti-government rallies.

It was still unclear how many detainees had been released.

Mariam al-Mahdi, the deputy chief of the Sudan's main opposition Umma Party, in 2014. Photo: AFP
Mariam al-Mahdi, the deputy chief of the Sudan's main opposition Umma Party, in 2014. Photo: AFP

Rights groups say more than 1,000 protesters, opposition leaders, activists and journalists have been arrested in an NISS-led crackdown to quell the protests.

Deadly protests have rocked Sudan for weeks, with officials confirming the deaths of 30 people in clashes with security forces during the demonstrations.

Rights groups have put the death toll at more than 40.

The protests that initially erupted against the rise of bread prices have mushroomed into nationwide rallies calling for an end to Bashir’s rule.