Sudan Bans Travelers from India, Imposes COVID Curbs

Cargo containing a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen at an airport in Sudan. Reuters file photo
Cargo containing a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen at an airport in Sudan. Reuters file photo
TT
20

Sudan Bans Travelers from India, Imposes COVID Curbs

Cargo containing a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen at an airport in Sudan. Reuters file photo
Cargo containing a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen at an airport in Sudan. Reuters file photo

Sudan on Tuesday banned travelers arriving from India and imposed new coronavirus restrictions including closing schools, as coronavirus cases rise.

"Entry will be prevented for all travelers arriving directly from India or through any other country after having visited India in the past 14 days," said the country's ruling council in a statement.

Travelers from Egypt and Ethiopia will be re-tested upon arrival, it said.

India is experiencing elevated numbers of Covid-19 cases following the spread of a variant which has been classified by the World Health Organization as a "variant of concern."

Sudan has registered 34,707 Covid-19 cases including 1,116 fatalities as of May 16.

Authorities fear the virus caseload would exceed 100,000 during the first and second weeks of June if people fail to take the necessary measures, according to the statement.

"The Supreme Health Emergencies Committee ... ordered the suspension of all universities and schools for a month," it said.

Mass prayers and rituals will also be put on hold.

In March, the country began inoculating healthcare workers after receiving AstraZeneca vaccinations through the Covax initiative which provides jabs to poor countries.



Tunisia Detains Prominent Lawyer Souab

Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
TT
20

Tunisia Detains Prominent Lawyer Souab

Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

Tunisian police on Monday detained Ahmed Souab, a prominent lawyer and fierce critic of the country's president, lawyers told Reuters, raising human rights groups' concerns that a crackdown on dissent will go ahead.

Souab is among the lawyers acting for opposition leaders who received lengthy prison sentences on Saturday on conspiracy charges.

Souab strongly criticized the judge and the trial on Friday, calling it a farce and saying the judiciary had been completely destroyed.

"It seems he was detained because of his critical comments on the trial on Friday," said Samir Dilou, one of Souab's lawyers. Two others lawyers confirmed the detention.

Political parties rejected the rulings, saying they were retaliatory after a trial aimed at cementing President Kais Saied's authoritarian rule.

Rights groups say Saied has had full control over the judiciary since he dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. He dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and sacked dozens of judges in 2022.

"The mass conviction of dissidents...is a disturbing indication of the authorities' willingness to go ahead with its crackdown on peaceful dissent," the human rights group Amnesty International said.

Those convicted included prominent leaders of the Islamist Ennahda party, the main opposition party to Saied.

Ennahda Vice President, Noureddine Bhiri received a 43-year prison sentence, while the court sentenced two senior party officials, Said Ferjani and Sahbi Atig, to ​​13 years each.

The largest sentence was 66 years for businessman Kamel Ltaif, while opposition politician Khyam Turki received a 48-year sentence.