Khartoum: The mothers of two detained Sudanese political activists vowed on Saturday that their sons “will not be broken” despite alleged torture and their detention without charge having been extended.
A UN rights expert raised concern about the condition of Tajalsir Jaafar, 28; Mohammad Salah and a third activist, Muammar Mousa Mohammad, during a visit to Khartoum in late June.
The three were detained outside the University of Khartoum on May 12, according to Girifna, a non-violent movement seeking an end to President Omar Al Bashir’s government.
The campus had been in turmoil, with clashes between pro-government youths and their opponents, after a student was killed during a campus rally for peace in Darfur.
“He is very strong and will not be broken by their torture or beatings,” Jaafar’s mother Sabah Osman Mohammad, told a news conference.
A security source said last week that if the family has such a complaint it should be taken to a prosecutor, rather than being raised in the media.
“They want them to change their opinion,” Salah’s mother Zainab Badr Al Deen said at the same press conference. “They want to break them.”
Both mothers wept during their presentation in front of a banner reading, “Freedom for Tajalsir”.
They said they have only been allowed two visits with their sons.
Salah has not wavered from his position “to overthrow this regime,” his mother said.
The National Intelligence and Security Service has renewed the detention without charge of both youths for three more months, prompting them to begin a hunger strike on Friday, Zainab said.
She and Jaafar’s mother said they did not have much information about the third youth’s situation, as he is detained at a different location.
