Families of detained politicians and activities who had taken part in ٍSudan’s recent protests have staged a sit-in inside the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) headquarters in Khartoum, demanding their release or fair trial. The government acknowledged that the number of the detainees exceeded 800, with rights groups claiming the numbers crossed thousands. According to eyewitness, the families elected representatives to negotiate with security authorities. Representatives mentioned in one of the meetings with NISS Legal Desk that families said they haven’t been able to visit their detained relatives since a month, although the law permits families of detainees to visit them every 15 days. The security official stated that the families’ demands to visit the detainees were legitimate and they also have the right to file a suit with the constitutional court against NISS. The security official promised to speed up the preparation of locations to enable families to visit the detainees, and attributed NISS’s slow response to the families’ demands for visits to the fact that the Kuber prison is crammed with detainees.

The families of the detainees have exercised their constitutional right referred to in Article 40/1 of the Interim Constitution of the Sudan 2005 which provides: the right to peaceful assembly shall be guaranteed; every person shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form or join political parties, associations and trade or professional unions for the protection of his/her interests.

Source: Sudantribune, Alrakoba