Sudan detains top editor who heads journalists union

KHARTOUM: A top Sudanese editor who heads the main journalists’ union has been detained, the union said late on Thursday, calling on Sudan’s military rulers to free him or put him on trial.

The detention of Sadiq al-Rizaigi on Wednesday came as the military said it had arrested a top general, several security officers and Islamist leaders over a foiled coup attempt announced earlier this month.

The Sudanese Journalists’ Union called on the ruling Transitional Military Council to "immediately release" its head Rizaigi, a prominent Islamist and editor of Al-Sayha newspaper, or that he be put on trial.

A senior journalist with Rizaigi’s newspaper told AFP that security forces had taken him away from outside the newspaper’s premises.

"We do not know where he is being held or the reasons for his detention," said Awad Jad Al-Sayid, news editor of Al-Sahya. On Wednesday, the military announced several arrests in connection with a foil coup attempt.

It said it had arrested General Hashim Abdel Mottalib, the head of the joint chiefs of staff, and a number of officers from the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) along with leaders of the Islamic Movement and the National Congress Party.

Sudanese media also reported that among those arrested was General Bakri Hassan Saleh, a former first vice president and prime minister and a prominent figure in the 1989 coup that brought now ousted president Omar al-Bashir to power.