Port Sudan — Remand prisoners at Port Sudan Central Prison in Red Sea state have agreed to suspend their open-ended hunger strike until Sunday after receiving assurances from judicial and prosecution officials in response to one of their demands concerning trial procedures. Reliable sources tell Radio Dabanga that the 83 prisoners decided to suspend the strike until Sunday following a visit by the appeals judge responsible for overseeing prisons, the appeals judge responsible for criminal cases, and the head of the Red Sea prosecution service. The officials meet the prisoners inside their cell block.
The officials, who attend on the instructions of the chief justice and the public prosecutor, agree to a request from the prisoners, who are on hunger strike, to increase the number of judges. Three judges are to be appointed to hear the prisoners' cases from Sunday, the source says.
The judges also pledge to put an end to the "delays and procrastination" caused by the absence of witnesses and complainants, by resolving such matters in a single hearing. They undertake to rule on the cases within two months, the source says.
An agreement is reached with the prisoners to suspend the strike until Sunday, 30 August 2026. The prisoners make clear that if the commitments are not implemented, they will resume their hunger strike and renew their demands.
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The prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike on Tuesday in protest at what they describe as violations of their constitutional and legal right to a "fair and speedy trial". They accuse the authorities of systematically delaying their cases for years because all of them are being brought before a single judge.
The roughly 83 prisoners express deep frustration at being held at Port Sudan prison for almost two years. Some have spent the full two years in detention without even having their cases transferred to court, the source says.
The source says the strike is 100% successful, with no authority able to break it. The prison administration changes its approach, offering promises to improve services, the source says.
The prison director personally visits the prisoners and tries to negotiate with them to break the strike and contain the dispute, promising to address their demands gradually with the relevant authorities. But the prisoners remain committed to the strike and reject mediation efforts by several officers who also ask them to call it off.
They close the door to their cell block, leaving a notice attached to it, and insist that they will continue the strike until their demands are implemented.
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Editor's note: This article has been translated from Arabic with the assistance of artificial intelligence, and subsequently reviewed and adapted by a human editor before publication.
