Former Foreign Minister and head of the National Congress Party Ibrahim Ghandour challenged the government by defying the law that bans former members of the party from political activity.
Ghandour announced that a law established by a political group will not deter the party members from exercising their rights.
He asserted in a Facebook post: “Our rights are not granted by anyone, and we are fully prepared to pay the price for those rights, be it prison or any other.”
Authorities established a law allowing the imprisonment of members of the former ruling party who are involved in politics.
Sudanese authorities imprisoned ousted president Omar al-Bashir in Kober, along with top figures of his party on charges of military coup, criminal participation in the murder of demonstrators, and financial corruption.
In November, the government issued a law to dismantle the system built by Bashir, confiscating its properties and banning its leadership activities.
Bashir is being investigated for his role in the 1989 coup that brought him to power, as well as the serious violations of human rights during his mandate and the involvement of his most prominent leaders in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Darfur.
A top official of the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF), Youssef Seddik, indicated that the revolution broke out against Bashir’s regime, which came to power with a military coup against the country's democratic system.
Seddik recalled how during Bashir’s ruling, restrictions were the worst on freedoms and human rights.
He noted that the National Congress Party was tried under the law "dismantling the rescue system" and banning its political activities.
Based on the law, any member of the party who is proven to have been involved in crimes against the Sudanese people will be prosecuted, according to Seddik.
Despite legal restrictions that prevent the Congress Party from engaging in any political activity, it has been organizing protests calling to overthrow the transitional government. Authorities have not taken any actions against the protesters, so far.
The head of the DFCF Executive Office, Babikir Faisal, explained that according to the constitutional document ruling the transitional period and the law to dismantle the system, the National Congress is an illegal entity and should not be allowed to engage in political action.
Faisal indicated that authorities have failed to arrest all figures of the former regime, and those who speak for the dissolved party. He added that the Public Prosecutor should have applied the law to anyone who breaks it, as was the case with Ibrahim Ghandour, who spoke on behalf of the party.
A DFCF top official accused the government of failing to firmly deal with the officials of the former regime and arresting them.
The official, who preferred not to be named, said that the protests toppled the regime over a year ago, and despite that, authorities have not been able to bring figures of the former regime to trial for their crimes.
He noted that the dissolution of the National Congress Party is the most important demand of the Sudanese people that took it to the streets and toppled Bashir’s regime.
