False claims of an attempted coup

Security Forces arrest Mubarek el Fadl at dawn on July 14.

Mubarek al Fadil was formally a member of the Umma Party, the opposition party of his cousin former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, the leader overthrown by the coup that brought about the present regime. Fadil played an important role in the formation of the National Democratic Alliance, the coalition uniting the opposition, including the SPLM during the Southern war. Fadil broke with Sadiq in 2002, to form the Umma Party (Reform and Renewal ) and committed to the National Congress Party (CN) at the beginning of 2003, then he became presidential adviser. However, he was thrown out at the end of 2004 when he made a visit to the United Stated without Beshir's authorization. His position in the opposition was one critical of the government's policy in Darfur .

State Security has given conflicting reports as to motives behind the arrest: to stop a coup d' é tat attempt; to foil an assassination targeting members of the government; to dismantle a sabotage ring in the heart of Khartoum with serious arms caches. Maybe something like this was uncovered, but none of it linked to Mubarek al Fadil. Among the many raids on sites in Khartoum suspected of harboring illegal weapons some of the most muscled were on the SPLM offices. The occupants were neither informed nor present. A portrait of deceased leader John Garang was lacerated. The SPLM demanded a formal apology. Oddly it was presidential assistant Nafi Ali Nafi, who publicly declared the incident “regrettable”.

Explanations incompatible with the sequence of events were soon issued by the security services. Mubarek was said to have sought support from Libyan leader Muammar al Quadaffi who allegedly denounced him, and from the U.S. , which denied everything. Khartoum then played it all down. The Arabic network Al Jeezera focused on both statements, and was chastised by Khartoum . The network deemed the public scolding “pathetic”. Newspapers and the media were forbidden to address the incident. According to Sadiq el Mahdi, this is the fifth time that the regime has made accusations of an attempted coup without real proof.

A member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was also arrested but released the next day. Then fourteen army officers were taken into custody bringing the total to forty-two people, eleven of whom were released while thirty three other remained in the hands of the Ministry of Justice, that gave the figure of twenty-five. The government claims to have established a commission of inquiry, but no members of the said commission seem to be aware of it. A month after his arrest, the lawyer defending Mubarek has still not been able to visit with his client, although his family had seen him. His health is deteriorating. According to Amnesty International , eight of the detained have been severely tortured. One among them, DUP member Ahmed Salman, believed that he was tortured so that he would agree to the accusations against Mubarek al Fadil. This coincided with his diary that leaked to the press stating officers in the State Security apparatus were dismayed not to have found proof of plot allegations. Under the circumstances, it is understandable how much they want a confession. Meanwhile, the SPLM had condemned the illegal detentions. It is apparent that Umma Party reunification is underway, and links to the SPLM existed putting NC is in a risky position in the next elections, overall reasons for the arrest.

The government has had a hard time selling the detentions and arrests to the skeptical general public.

( Coverage of the story in the Sudan Tribune by Wasil Ali : 14 07, 14 07, 16 07, 16 07, 18 07, 25 07, 28 07 14 07 14 07 17 09 Reuter 14 07, 10 08, 08 09, 10 09, AP 16 07).