Sudanese journalist detained for backing protests freed

KHARTOUM: A prominent Sudanese journalist who had been detained for expressing his support for anti-government protests has been freed, he told AFP on Saturday.

Faisal Mohamed Salih had been arrested on Thursday from his office by agents of the country’s powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS).

Salih, recipient of the 2013 Peter Mackler Award for ethical and courageous journalism, said security agents had taken him in for questioning over his views about the protests that erupted across Sudan on December 19.

"I told them that I supported the protesters as they were demonstrating peacefully, but I was not part of any group organising these protests," Salih said.

"The officers wanted to know my views, and after a lot of chatting they released me at midnight," Salih said a few hours after his release.

Salih was recognised by the Peter Mackler Award -- which is named after the late Agence France-Presse reporter and editor -- for speaking out about human rights abuses.