Communist official arrested in Sudan

An opposition Sudanese lawyer, who is also chairman of the "National Alliance to Restore Democracy," Ghazi Suleiman, said on Wednesday that Sudanese security systems had arrested an official in the Sudanese Communist Party, Muhammad Mahjoub Muhammad, ten days ago and led him to an unknown destination.

Suleiman said that he submitted a request on Tuesday to the supreme court to free "Ali," who has been in custody since December 27, 1998 but with no accusations addressed to him.

The lawyer also called upon the court to investigate "Ali being tortured," adding that Ali's family "does not know his location and did not receive any information about him."