Sudan’s opposition figures arrested amid protests

By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - Sudan’s opposition figures, including deputy chairwoman of the National Umma Party, have been arrested on Sunday, as protests erupted in some parts of the capital Khartoum, an eyewitness said.

“Deputy chairman of the National Umma Party Mariam Sadiq al-Mahdi, one of the leading members in the party Rabah al-Sadig, and others have been arrested as they were leading the protests around the NUP headquarters in Omdurman on Sunday afternoon,” Ahmed Abdul Gani, the eyewitness, told Anadolu Agency.

Later, Wali Ali Saeed, a leading figure of the Democratic Lawyer Alliance, told Anadolu Agency an emergency court has sentenced Mariam to one week in jail and fined 2,000 Sudanese pounds ($42).

Five more protesters were also fined ranging from 5,000-10,000 Sudanese pounds ($105-211), he said.

Last month, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir declared a state of emergency that produced a raft of measures including the formation of emergency courts across the country.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) on Sunday said on its website that thousands of protesters took to the streets in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital Khartoum, against the state of emergency.

The SPA also posted pictures of protests in the city of Medani in Al-Gazeera state, 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of capital Khartoum.