KHARTOUM, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese authorities on Monday released 36 detainees from Soba Prison, who had been arrested in demonstrations in capital Khartoum during recent weeks, according to Sudanese Lawyers Committee.
"Those released from Soba prison are political prisoners who were arrested in connection with the recent protests," the committee said on its Facebook page on Monday.
They were transferred to police stations in Bahri, Omdurman and Khartoum cities, and were released after completing bails procedures, it added.
Those who were released were part of more than 200 detainees, the lawyers said, pointing out the move was "a camouflage to mislead" the visiting UN Expert on Human Rights in Sudan Adama Dieng.
Dieng arrived in Khartoum on Sunday for a four-day visit, one month after the Sudanese authorities asked for the postponement of his visit.
He met on Monday with Sudan's acting Justice Minister Mohamed Saeed al-Hilu, and will also meet with senior Sudanese government officials, representatives of civil society organizations, human rights defenders, heads of UN entities, and diplomats, according to the UN human rights commission in Sudan.
Dieng was appointed in November 2021 to monitor the human rights situation in Sudan.
Sudan has been suffering a political crisis after the General Commander of the Sudanese Army Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2021 and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the government.
Since then, opposition groups have been staging regular mass protests in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other cities to demand civilian rule. ■