http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iZvq9AvSNVPCgldIBsPBy0qfR
DmQ?docId=CNG.4ec0d644f5638e40f182b6d39cbee4b3.f51 


Sudan releases Islamist opposition leader Turabi

(AFP) - 3 days ago

KHARTOUM - Sudan's Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi, who helped
slain Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden settle in Khartoum in the 1990s,
was freed on Monday after more than three months in jail.

The veteran politician, who was arrested in January shortly after warning of
a Tunisia-style uprising, was defiant following his release, saying he was
never investigated or charged, and again calling for a revolution in Sudan
"against corruption."

"No one told me why they arrested me and no one told me why I was released,"
Turabi told reporters at his home in Khartoum.

"I call for the Sudanese people to start their own revolution against
corruption, because there are revolutions in many Arab countries and the
Sudanese people are not less than the people of those countries," he said.

"The situation in Sudan is worse than in those countries," added the
79-year-old former mentor turned outspoken critic of President Omar
al-Bashir.

Under Sudanese law, the security forces are allowed to hold people for up to
45 days without charging them, after which the detainees must either be
tried or released.

In and out of prison numerous times in the course of his controversial
career, Turabi was a key figure in Bashir's regime for a decade after his
1989 coup, when he emerged as what many believed to be the real power in a
country that sought to implement rigorous Islamic practices.

At the time, Sudan became a notorious refuge for militant Islamists,
including bin Laden, resulting in Khartoum being accused of sponsoring
terrorism and its subsequent blacklisting by governments from the United
States to Egypt.

When bin Laden was finally forced to leave the country in 1996, Turabi
facilitated his relocation to Pakistan.

He then fell out with Bashir after a protracted power struggle that landed
him and many of his supporters in jail, and became one of the Sudanese
president's fiercest critics.

Youth activists seeking to emulate events in Tunisia and neighbouring Egypt
have tried to organise nationwide anti-regime demonstrations in Sudan since
January.

But they have so far failed, partly because of the zero-tolerance policy of
the authorities.

Some analysts believe the Khartoum government faces a much greater threat
from within, and say Turabi is the most dangerous opposition leaders because
of a loyal following he still has inside the ruling National Congress Party.

 
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iZvq9AvSNVPCgldIBsPBy0qf
RDmQ?docId=CNG.4ec0d644f5638e40f182b6d39cbee4b3.f51> 


 

 

 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------------------

--------------------------
Want to discuss this topic?  Head on over to our discussion list, 
[email protected].
--------------------------
Brooks Isoldi, editor
[email protected]

http://www.intellnet.org

  Post message: [email protected]
  Subscribe:    [email protected]
  Unsubscribe:  [email protected]


*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has 
not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of 
The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT 
YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the 
included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of 
intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, 
techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other 
intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes 
only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material 
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use 
this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' 
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    [email protected] 
    [email protected]

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    [email protected]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Reply via email to