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Sudan’s Bashir orders release of detained women protesters
KHARTOUM, March 9, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on
Friday ordered the release of all women protesters detained during nationwide
demonstrations that have rocked his iron-fisted rule since December.
Bashir made the announcement during a meeting with a group of people from
eastern Sudan at his residence in Khartoum.
“I order Salah Ghosh to release all women detainees,” Bashir said at the
meeting, referring to the chief of the powerful National Intelligence and
Security Service (NISS) that has led a sweeping crackdown on protesters.
The media office at the presidency also confirmed that Bashir had ordered
the release of all women detainees held during the demonstrations, a move
that coincided with International Women’s Day.
Officials have not said how many women have been detained during the
protests, but opposition activists say about 150 are in detention.
Hundreds of protesters, opposition leaders, activists and journalists have
been detained since the rallies erupted on December 19 following a government
decision to triple the price of bread.
The protests quickly mushroomed into nationwide demonstrations against
Bashir’s rule, with crowds calling on the veteran leader to step down.
Bashir himself has acknowledged that the protests were led by youths, the
majority of them women.
Officials say 31 people have died in protest related violence so far, while
the Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at at least 51.
Bashir has imposed a slew of tough measures, including a year-long state of
emergency across the country, to quell the protests after the initial
crackdown failed to suppress the movement.
Earlier on Friday, protesters staged a demonstration in eastern Khartoum’s
district of Burri but they were confronted by security forces with tear gas,
witnesses said.
Security forces also fired tear gas at protesters who rallied outside a
mosque in the twin city of Omdurman after the weekly Muslim prayers,
witnesses said.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0935 hrs