Sudan Says It’s Freed All Political Captives

Sudan on Saturday released a former prime minister jailed for three months without charges, and declared that all political detainees are now free.

The government promised Wednesday to release all political detainees who had not been charged. With the release of Sadiq el-Mahdi and 31 others since Thursday, Information Minister Abdel-Basit Sabdarat told SUNA, the official Sudanese news agency, that: “Sudan is now free of all political detainees.”

But human rights groups say there are several hundred more.

El-Mahdi, 60, was arrested in May after criticizing the regime of Lt. Gen. Omar el-Beshir.