From Club de Madrid, we maintain the need for President al-Bashir´s government to take the measures necessary to put an end to rebel offensives, criminal activity and intercommunal fighting over access to resources in the Darfur region and move towards the effective start of a much needed, peaceful and open national dialogue process between the Umma and the National Congress parties, not only to restore law and order but to create the conditions and climate necessary for free and fair elections to be held in 2015
Sadiq Al Mahdi, Prime Minister of Sudan in the country’s last elected civilian government and ousted by then Colonel Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 1989 and nowadays he is the head of the opposition party (UMMA). Al Mahdi was imprisioned after the national prosecutor opened an investigation into Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) accusations that former Prime Minister Al Mahdi had insulted and distorted the image of state security forces in comments made about the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at a news conference.
The detention sparked concerns from the US, UK embassies and the EU Delegation in Khartoum. The Club de Madrid and its Members reacted inmediately and issued and statement calling upon Al Mahdi’s inmediate release and stressing that “no one should ever be jailed for expressing his/her opinion or venting criticism. Moreover, it is outrageous to put someone on trial for expressing his/her opinion with a jail/death sentence looming”.
