Head of the National Umma Party (NUP) Sadiq al-Mahdi joined protesters who marched following Friday prayers at a major mosque in the city of Omdurman near the Sudanese capital.
A video of Mahdi that circulated on social media showed him among his followers, who have been carrying out weekly protests against President Omar al-Bashir after Friday prayers since anti-government demonstrations erupted in the country on December 19.
Mahdi was seen surrounded by protesters chanting: "Down, that's it” and "Freedom, peace, justice".
Meanwhile, Sudanese security agents released Osman Mirghani, editor-in-chief of the independent daily Al-Tayar, who had been kept in custody for more than a month without charges.
Mirghani was taken away by security agents from his office on the night of February 22 after making televised comments on Bashir's decision to impose a nationwide state of emergency.
Mirghani was arrested after an interview with Sky News Arabia in which he said Bashir's measures would "spark a new wave" of protests and send a message that the public "can exert more pressure to achieve its goal of removing this regime".
During a phone call with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, he said that the security forces didn’t interrogate him during his time of arrest, and that the president’s aide, Ahmad Haroun, visited him Friday to convey the authorities’ intention to release him.
Also Friday, protesters rallied in the eastern town of Khashm El-Girba following media reports that the security agents responsible for the death of resident Ahmad Kheir under torture would be tried by a military court.
Kheir was killed in detention hours after his arrest on charges of organizing protests against Bashir’s government on January 31.
