Khartoum — Sudan's army chief and Sovereignty Council chair Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan has granted temporary immunity to Sudanese taking part in a national dialogue, ordering criminal cases against those seeking to participate to be dropped. Justice Minister Abdallah Darfa announced the decision at a press conference in Khartoum on Tuesday.

The minister says the order covers cases filed by any state agency against Sudanese living outside the country, relating to accusations arising from political acts or opinions, with the charges in those cases also being dropped.

Participants in the dialogue will receive temporary procedural immunity, preventing criminal proceedings from being brought against them from the moment they enter the country until they complete their participation and leave, Darfa says. No criminal proceedings may be brought over any opinion expressed during the dialogue if it is directly or indirectly related to it, he adds.

The justice minister says the guarantees are a response to a national initiative aimed at creating the conditions for Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue. The state's role, he says, is limited to providing guarantees, facilitation, and protection, without intervening in the selection of dialogue participants, its agenda, or its outcomes.

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Darfa stresses that the decision applies to cases filed by state agencies, while a previous amnesty for fighters remains in force and covers those who meet its conditions, foremost among them voluntarily surrendering to the armed forces and handing over their weapons.

Note: This article has been translated from Arabic with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools, and subsequently reviewed and adapted by a human editor before publication.