In a surprise move, Sudan's president Omar Al Bashir announced this week he will release all political prisoners and launch talks with opposition groups. Today his government freed seven opposition activists held without charge for three months.
The six men and one woman walked free at dawn and many were met by their families at the gates of Kober Prison in the capital, Khartoum. Most were arrested after they attended a conference in Uganda in January where plans reportedly were discussed to topple Mr. Bashir. They included Youssif al-Koda, Hisham Mufti, and Abdul Aziz Khalid, members of Khartoum's opposition parties who are beginning to present a unified front against Bashir.
Amnesty International calculates that at least 119 other political detainees are still behind bars in Sudan, many in what it terms "degrading and inhumane conditions."
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