The Sudanese authorities released at dawn today, Tuesday, the director of the Al-Jazeera office in Sudan, fellow Muslim Al-Kabbashi.
Yesterday, Monday, the Sudanese authorities transferred Al-Kabashi to Soba prison, south of the capital, despite the prosecutor's decision to release him, amid widespread local and international condemnations and calls for his release as soon as possible.
The Public Prosecution Office for Crimes Against the State in Sudan had launched an investigation with Al-Kabashi regarding Al-Jazeera's coverage of events in the country, after a security force raided his house last Saturday night and arrested him, without knowing the nature of the charges against him.
The General Union of Sudanese Journalists - dissolved by the ousted transitional government - condemned the arrest of Al-Kabbashi.
In a statement, he called on the Sudanese authorities to release him or bring him to a speedy trial.
He also called for the release of all detained journalists, to stop harassing and prosecuting journalists for arrest, to enable them to practice their journalistic work freely, and to respect freedom of opinion and expression and press freedoms.
A security force arrests the director of Al Jazeera's office in Sudan after raiding his house, and the network calls on the authorities to release him immediately and enable its journalists to work without intimidation pic.twitter.com/Endmr9QHfX
- Al Jazeera (@AJArabic) November 14, 2021
International condemnations
For its part, the International Press Institute strongly condemned the arrest of Al-Kabbashi, and called on the Sudanese authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally.
The Executive Director of the Institute, Barbara Trionvi, said that what had happened was a clear attack on freedom of the press, and that the media should be allowed to cover the events in Sudan freely.
Tryonfi called on the Sudanese army to stop all attempts to impede the work of journalists.
As for Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, he called on the Sudanese authorities to release all journalists who were arrested in Sudan, including the director of Al Jazeera's bureau.
In the foreign reactions as well, the US State Department expressed its concern about the arrest of Al-Kabashi, noting that the Sudanese security forces continue to arrest political leaders, civil society figures, journalists, and a number of protest organizers.
And she stressed that the Sudanese army should release all civilians detained against the background of what it described as the military takeover, including lifting the house arrest of ousted Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok.
Shortly after announcing Al-Kabbashi's arrest, Al-Jazeera network condemned "this behavior in the strongest terms," and called on the military authorities to "immediately release the colleague and allow all its journalists to work without hindrance, and enable them to perform their duties without fear or intimidation."
Al-Jazeera network also held the Sudanese authorities "fully responsible for the safety of all its employees working in Sudan."