Sudan postpones trial of 101 Egyptian fishermen

“The Sudanese authorities have postponed the retrial of 101 Egyptian fisherman until next Sunday on charges of espionage and violating territorial waters,” head of the Fishermen Syndicate in Daqahlia Taha al-Sharidy said.

On 10 April, the Sudanese authorities arrested Egyptian fishermen on their way to Eritrea.

A Sudanese court sentenced the fishermen to six months in prison and a fine of 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($639) each. However, the Sudanese authorities re-arrested them and sent them to Port Sudan where they were put on retrial.

Fishermen Syndicate lawyer Sami Ghobon said: “Members of the fishermen’s syndicate have met with Ambassador Badr Abdel Ati and the official spokesman of the foreign ministry on Sunday to discuss the latest developments reached by the Egyptian consulate in Sudan on the fishermen crisis.”

Ghobon pointed out that “the secretary-general of the Arab Lawyers’ Union has issued a decision to form a committee to adopt the fishermen’s case and defend them on a voluntary basis before Sudanese courts and has contacted the Sudanese Bar Association to coordinate with it on the issue.”

He told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency that the fishermen were re-arrested while they were on their boats waiting to return to Egypt.