KHARTOUM: Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan lifted on Sunday a state of emergency imposed since last year’s military coup, the ruling sovereign council said.

Burhan “issued a decree lifting the state of emergency nationwide,” the council said in a statement.

The order was made “to prepare the atmosphere for a fruitful and meaningful dialogue that achieves stability for the transitional period”, it added.

Meanwhile, the trial of four people accused of fatally stabbing a senior police officer during anti-coup protests opened in the capital Khartoum on Sunday.

The judge ordered an investigation into allegations the four had been tortured in custody and adjourned the court until June 12, according to the correspondent.

General Ali Bareema was killed in January, according to authorities, one of two police fatalities during months of ongoing protests that erupted in the wake of an October 25 coup led by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Medics meanwhile say nearly 100 demonstrators have been killed in a crackdown against anti-coup protests.

Four protesters — Mohammed “Tupac” Adam, Mohamed al-Fattah, Mossaab al-Sherif and Ahmed al-Nanna — were arrested and charged in January over Bareema’s death, and have remained in custody since.

In March, they held a week-long hunger strike in Khartoum’s Kober prison to protest against “inhumane treatment”, “police brutality” and a lack of due process, their lawyers said.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2022