Sudan releases second political detainee in two days

Khartoum, 

Sudanese authorities have released a former member of the ruling Sovereign Council, the second key civilian figure to be freed in two days, this is according to defence lawyer, Azhari al-Haj.

Mohamed al-Fekki's release comes more than two months after the politician was detained.

On Tuesday, the authorities released Khaled Youssef, a former minister and prominent opponent of the October 25, 2022 military coup that was staged by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The coup derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule that had been established in the wake of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir's fall from power in 2019.

The coup also drew widespread mass protests and condemnation from the international community.

Fekki's spell in detention was his second since last year's coup.

Pre-coup, he was a member of the civilian-military ruling council and had also headed a committee tasked with recovering properties seized by Bashir's regime.

Authorities have accused the committee of misappropriating funds that it confiscated, but its members have consistently denied these accusations.

Other key figures remain in custody including Wagdi Saleh, a spokesman for the Forces for Freedom and Change, the main civilian political bloc which was sidelined after the October coup.

Early this month, Burhan pledged to release political detainees to set the stage for talks among Sudanese factions.