Sudan allegedly delays trial of two pastors to avoid releasing them

The trial of two pastors and two other men are allegedly being delayed by Sudanese officials because there is not enough evidence for a conviction and the authorities do not want to set them free.

Rev. Kwa Shamaal and Rev. Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor were arrested on Dec. 18, 2015 and charged with multiple crimes including spying and inciting hatred against the government. Czech aid worker Petr Jasek and Abdulmonem Abdumawla of Darfur were also charged along with the two pastors.

The trial has been repeatedly postponed, and the judges were said to be out of the country during the scheduled hearings, Morning Star News reported.

A Khartoum church leader, who chose to remain anonymous, told Morning Star News that the government is being pressured by Islamists to delay the acquittal and release of the four men.

"There is nothing serious in the case up to this point. They have brought more than three witnesses, and there is still not any evidence," the church leader said.

The two pastors were accused of trying to tarnish the image of the government by collecting information about the persecution of Christians in the Nuba Mountains.

Abdumawla was arrested in December 2015 after he raised money to help his friend, Ali Omer, who suffered burn injuries during a student demonstration. Jasek was also arrested that same month for "tarnishing Sudan's image" by documenting persecution. He was also charged with waging war against the state because he supposedly gave money to "some individuals," allegedly including some rebel fighters, in South Kordofan in 2012.

Defense attorney Muhanad Nur said that the charges against the four Christians are groundless.

"Statements of the prosecutor indicate that there were no bases for all the charges brought against them," Nur told Morning Star News.

Sources have revealed that family members are being prohibited by the police from visiting the accused.

The case of the four Christians has caught the attention of some foreign diplomats and international rights groups after their story broke out last year. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) initiated a campaign calling for the release of Shamal and Tawor. The petition has gathered over 92,000 signatures since it was launched earlier this month.