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Hundreds of Sudanese protesters gathered in Khartoum on Thursday to support demonstrators arrested during several weeks of protests against President Omar al-Bashir's iron-fist regime, witnesses said.
The latest demonstration took place after Bashir acknowledged that the controversial law and order law in Sudan and growing economic difficulties had angered the youths and thrown them into the streets.
The veteran leader said on Thursday that "enemies of Sudan" were funding a media campaign supporting the protesters.
The rally was called to express solidarity with the hundreds of protesters arrested since the beginning of the anti-government unrest in December.
The protesters gathered in the capital's downtown area, chanting the rallying cry of their campaign: "Freedom, peace, justice," witnesses said.
For nearly two weeks, a security crackdown prevented them from converging in the central district.
"Bring all your soldiers, but today you are going to fall," the protesters chanted, witnesses said, adding that the riot police quickly confronted them with tear gas.
"The authorities thought we could not go to downtown," said a protester at AFP without giving his name for security reasons.
"It was difficult, but today we have managed to do it."
The protesters also held rallies in the eastern district of Burri, in the east of the capital, and in other parts of Khartoum, witnesses said.
Video footage and photographs were quickly uploaded to social networks, some showing protesters led by security guards.
The first demonstration in Sudan took place on December 19, as a result of the government's decision to raise the price of bread.
They quickly turned into nationwide rallies against the Bashir regime, three decades old, with a mob calling for his resignation.
According to officials, 30 people died in protest-related violence, while Human Rights Watch said at least 51 people were killed in clashes with security forces.
The Sudanese Professionals' Association (ASP), which led the protest movement, called Thursday's protests specifically to support the detainees it claims are "tortured".
Last week, Ahmed al-Kheir, a teacher from Khashm El-Girba, in eastern Kbadala state, died in prison after being arrested for taking part in the protests, a local official said. at AFP.
His death in custody was confirmed Thursday by a senior official.
Amer Ibrahim, chairman of a committee of the prosecutor's office to investigate the violence related to the protests, told reporters that Kheir was "dead from injuries to the body."
"The man had injuries to his back, legs and other parts of his body that led to his death," Ibrahim said.
"We asked the NISS leader in Kbadala to bring the security agents who interrogated Kheir to Khashm el-Girba," he said.
On January 29, Salah Ghosh, head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), ordered the release of all detainees, but it is unclear how many were released.
Bashir also ordered Wednesday the release of all detained journalists.
The 75-year-old president acknowledged that young people, mostly women, led the rallies and said the law and order law was "one of the reasons" for their anger.
Activists say the decades-old law targets mainly women, often accusing them of "indecent clothing and immoral behavior."
Heavy penalties, including fines and prison sentences, are imposed on women convicted under the law.
According to some Sudanese women's rights groups, more than 15,000 women were sentenced to flogging in 2016.
Bashir, who came to power following a 1989 Islamist-backed coup, also admitted that harsh economic conditions, such as high inflation, also fanned anger. Population.
Protesters in the streets insist that they are looking for a complete change in the country.
"We are not only against the law of public order," said Tahani, a protester who asked not to be named in a comprehensive manner.
"Once we overthrow the regime, we will completely change the old laws with new laws that respect the dignity and diversity of the Sudanese people."
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