Sudan lifts immunity of agents involved in protester death

Sudan's new prosecutor general Saturday lifted the immunity of security agents allegedly involved in the death of a detainee held in connection with protests, state media reported.

Ahmed al-Kheir, 36, was arrested in late January in the eastern state of Kassala by agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) on allegations that he was a protest organiser in the area.

His family was told to take his body from a local mortuary, and a top official in Khartoum later confirmed that Kheir had died from wounds suffered in detention.

On Saturday, Sudan's acting prosecutor general Al-Waleed Sayyed Ahmed issued a decree cancelling the immunity of the agents involved in Kheir's interrogation, the official SUNA news agency reported.

He did not specify their number.

It is rare for the immunity of NISS agents to be removed in Sudan.

Ahmed also appointed a new prosecutor to handle corruption cases and ordered the speeding up of investigations in criminal cases filed against protesters.

He was named acting prosecutor general this week by Sudan's new military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan after protesters demanded his predecessor be sacked.