On Thursday, 28 February, Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, called for the release of all political prisoners in Sudan and went so far as to threaten sanctions in the light of the restrictions on fundamental freedoms following the recent state of emergency.
In a statement, the High Representative referred to the growing militarisation of the regime and the increasing number of violations of fundamental freedoms “which undermine the recent offer of new political dialogue”. She criticised “the permissive climate for the security services to act with impunity against peaceful demonstrators” in particular.
“The EU expects the Sudanese government to release all journalists, members of the opposition, human rights defenders and other protesters in detention. Some of those with whom the dialogue is supposed to take place have been arbitrarily detained for over two months now”, said Ms Mogherini.
Calling for “an independent investigation into deaths and abuses” to end impunity, she said that “the EU will continue to monitor the situation and review the impact of the Government of Sudan's actions on its relations with the European Union”. Last November, the EU expressed its openness to dialogue and cooperation with Khartoum provided that reforms were carried out, particularly with respect to human rights (see EUROPE 12140). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)