Former top Sudanese official confirms release from detention

Former Sudanese Sovereign Council member Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman has been released from detention on bail, he told Reuters by phone on Wednesday.

Suleiman, along with several other top civilian politicians and former officials, was arrested in February on corruption charges stemming from their work on a committee working to dismantle the country’s former regime.

Their arrests came after an October coup that ended a power-sharing arrangement between the military and the civilian coalition they represented.

On Tuesday, former cabinet minister Khalid Omer Yousif was released on bail, while Suleiman and another member, Wagdi Salih, saw their detention extended on separate charges, according to lawyers. Other members of the committee were asked to pay what lawyers described as exorbitant bail.

Suleiman, however, confirmed to Reuters by phone on Wednesday that he had been released.

Military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had hinted at releasing the men as a trust-building move, in one of several steps demanded by Western countries and political parties.