Upon his release after more than two years of house arrest, hard-line Islamic leader and opposition figure Hassan Turabi pledged Monday to stick to the principles that led to his incarceration. "I will continue working for the same principles for which I was arrested: democracy, freedom of expression and human rights," the smiling, healthy-looking Turabi — dressed in a white robe and turban — told reporters at his home.
| You can assume what his interpretation of democracy, freedom of expression and human rights is from his attire... |
Sudanese authorities pardoned Turabi Monday. He had been arrested following calls to expand political reforms in Africa's largest country. His release comes amid international and local pressure to introduce political reforms and expand human rights in Sudan, where the government has been criticized for cracking down on opposition groups and closing reformist newspapers. Hundreds of supporters greeted Turabi outside his home in the capital, hugging him and shouting, "Allahu akbar," or "God is great." Sheep were slaughtered to welcome the leader on his return.
| The sheep were hoping he wouldn't get sprung. But does anybody think about the sheep? No-o-o-o-o! |
Turabi was once a top ally of Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir and the main architect of the Islamic fundamentalist government that was set up in the 1990s. But in 1999, the two had a falling out; el-Bashir accused Turabi, the speaker of parliament, of trying to grab power and stripped him of his position. Fathi Khalil, the Sudanese Bar Association president and a member of the Sudanese Council for Human Rights, said Turabi's pardoning will boost efforts to create a new Sudan built on "real justice and constitutional rights."
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