Sudan’s military frees Yasir Arman, 3 other prominent politicians after one month in jail

KHARTOUM — Sudan’s military on Sunday afternoon released prominent politicians, Yasir Saed Arman and three other politicians after a deal was reached between the military and detained former prime minister Abdallah Hamdok.

The three others are Omar el Degair, Sadig Al Sadig and Ali al Rei Al Senouri, all of whom, including Arman, were arrested on October 25 when the military took over the government after declaration of a state of emergency that saw Hamdok’s detention.

Speaking to Sudans Post on Sunday night following Arman’s release, a senior member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) led by Malik Agar said the group welcomes the release.

“Yasir is free and he was release along with Omar el Degair, Sadig Al Sadig and Ali el Rei and this is a great news for the people of Sudan that these people are important part of the Sudanese political environment,” the official who requested not to be named told Sudans Post’s Nancy Abdelrahman on condition of anonymity.

Earlier on Sunday, Sudan’s military reinstated Hamdok and promised to release all political detainees after weeks of deadly unrest triggered by a coup, although large crowds took to the streets to reject any deal involving the army, the Reuters reports.

Under an agreement signed with military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Hamdok, first appointed after the overthrow of autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a 2019 uprising, will lead a civilian government of technocrats for a transitional period.

The deal faces opposition from pro-democracy groups that have demanded full civilian rule ever since Bashir was ousted and have been angered by the deaths of dozens protesters in the weeks following the Oct. 25 coup.

Hamdok said the deal signed with the military grants him complete freedom in forming a government of technocrats, Al Jazeera TV reported.

“We agreed to hold elections before July 2023,” he is quoted as saying.