Sudan finally frees church leader after 5 months detention without charges
A pastor from a Sudan church was released from prison on Tuesday, May 10 after being detained since December last year.
The pastor, Telahoon Nogose Kassa, was arrested five months ago by Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). It was not clear why he was arrested, as he was detained without charges. However, NISS is allowed to keep a prisoner for up to four and a half months even without a charge, Morning Star News reported.
Sudan was scheduled last week for a Universal Periodic Review on human rights abuses, which was conducted by the United Nations.
Kassa is a discipleship pastor at Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church. Members of the church speculate that his arrest had something to do with his intervention against the government's attempt to grab the church's property.
The government had planned to sell the property to interested investors and harassed the church repeatedly. It also destroyed the church's worship center to pressure it into compliance.
According to witnesses, NISS agents went to Kassa's home on Dec. 13 and ordered him to go to their office. He went to NISS the following day as instructed, but without explanation, he was taken away as a prisoner. Authorities allowed no one to visit him except his parents.
They interrogated him for five days and asked him about a foreign missionary who went to the church's class on discipleship, a previous report said.
Kassa was not the only pastor illegally detained by NISS. Rev. Peter Yein Reith and Rev. Yat Michael were arrested based on false charges in January 2015 and December 2014, respectively. Both pastors had expressed opposition to the land grabbing and defended Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church against the government. They were released months before Kassa's arrest.
Kassa's family was happy that he was finally let out of prison.
"Finally, Telahoon is released, thanks for your prayers," his brother wrote on his Facebook page, while reminding everyone to pray for the release of others who are still detained.
