Sudan released most detainees since protests began: NGO

KHARTOUM

The vast majority of people detained since protests broke out in Sudan two months ago have since been released, a pro-government NGO said Wednesday.

“About 2,430 out of 2,650 people detained [since mid-December] have been released, while most of the rest are under investigation,” the Sudanese Center for Press Services (SCPS), which is known to be close to the government, quoted unnamed judicial sources as saying.

According to the same sources, the Sudanese security services hope to release remaining detainees -- especially women and students -- “as soon as possible”.

The SCPS cited the same sources as saying that no detainees had been mistreated while in custody.

Several opposition parties and labor syndicates, however, have questioned the NGO’s assertions.

Sudan has been rocked by popular protests since mid-December, with demonstrators decrying President Omar al-Bashir’s seeming failure to remedy the country’s chronic economic woes.

Sudanese officials say around 30 people have been killed since the protests began, while the opposition puts the number at closer to 50.