Sudan opposition leader to visit UK on Saturday

By Adel Abdel-Rahim

KHARTOUM (AA) - Sudanese opposition leader Sadiq al-Mahdi is expected to visit London on Saturday, according to his National Umma Party (NUP).

On July 1, the NUP said that Egyptian authorities had barred him from entering Egypt after he had attended a meeting in Berlin of Sudanese opposition figures.

In the two weeks since, al-Mahdi’s whereabouts have become the subject of speculation amid conflicting reports that he was in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates or London.

The NUP is now calling on members of Britain’s Sudanese community to receive the opposition leader at Heathrow International Airport.

The Egyptian government, meanwhile, has yet to issue a statement on the reported incident.

The NUM said earlier that Egyptian authorities had asked al-Mahdi not to take part in the Berlin meeting, describing the gathering as “foreign interference in Sudan’s domestic affairs”.

In April, the Sudanese authorities slapped al-Mahdi with a raft of charges, including “collaboration with rebel groups” -- an accusation that could carry the death penalty.