Khartoum, Sudan, Apr 18, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The vicar-general of the Diocese of Khartoum, Fr. Peter Ayung, was released from prison yesterday. The priest had been arrested April 14 at his residence by two police officers and brought to the Khartoum police station. He was transferred to Wad Medani, about 150 km south of Khartoum.
The police contested the issue of a cheque for the purchase of a vehicle, but internal sources said the accusation was a pretext to intimidate Fr. Ayung. The vicar-general had been entrusted with the debacle over the confiscation of an eight ha farm belonging to the archdiocese after Cardinal Zubeir Wako left for the Vatican.
“It appears that the government is bent on selling the whole area along the Blue Nile to some Arab companies for investment. Our farm is not the only one affected, there are several others,” sources said.