The arrest of Ahmed Haroun, former head of the ruling National Congress Party under former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, has reignited debate over the fate of former regime leaders wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as the military establishment's relationship with the Islamist movement.
Awatif al-Jaali, a member of Haroun’s defense team, said members of the team doubt his detention is linked to arrangements to hand him over to the ICC, which seeks him on charges of "committing war crimes in the Darfur region during al-Bashir's rule."
Al-Jaali told Asharq Al-Awsat that her client was arrested while traveling from the eastern Sudanese city of Kassala to the capital, Khartoum, by an unidentified security agency. She confirmed that the defense team has no information regarding his place of detention or the circumstances surrounding his arrest.
The defense team intends to submit a request to judicial authorities to allow its lawyers to meet with their client, ascertain the reasons for his arrest, and identify the authority that issued the order before determining the next legal steps, she said.
The defense team comprises lawyers from both inside and outside Sudan, she revealed.
Moreover, Al-Jaali described the arrest as "illegal," saying that it "contradicts rights guaranteed by the constitution and the law, foremost among them freedom of expression of political and ideological views."
Haroun's arrest came days after he appeared in a televised interview in which he revisited the topic of his party's relationship with the military establishment and declared his support for army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, adding that the latter had been influenced by what he described as media hype and international pressure against Islamists.
In an interview with Reuters last year, Haroun said he expected that the army would remain in power after the war ends, stressing the need to reach a formula defining its role in political life.
He also said that his party seeks to return to governing the country following a post-war transitional phase.
His recent statements drew criticism from anti-war political and civil forces, which argued that allowing former regime leaders to move freely inside the country, despite facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, reflects their continued political and security influence.
Political forces said that Haroun's arrest may be an attempt to contain the fallout from his media appearance and absorb the domestic and international pressure and criticism that followed, particularly amid growing debate over the nature of the relationship between the army and Islamists, and the extent to which military decision-making is independent of its influence.
