Social media activist held in dragnet after Sudan demos

AFP , Wednesday 2 Oct 2013

A social media activist working for the World Bank has been arrested in Sudan, her husband said Wednesday, part of a crackdown after fuel price hikes sparked deadly protests.

Eight security officers took Dalia El Roubi from her family home on Monday, her husband Abdelrahman Elmahdi told AFP.

They also detained her friend Rayan Shaker, a fellow activist, but gave no reason for the arrests, Elmahdi said.

"As of today we have no clue as to her whereabouts or where she is staying or her condition," he said.

Elmahdi said his wife, a mother of three, belongs to no political party but is "part of the youth movement," including a group called Sudan Change Now.

He said his wife had joined one protest last weekend, a funeral procession for Salah Sanhouri, a pharmacist gunned down during a demonstration.

Security officers seized a video camera and a small digital camera from El Roubi's home, her husband added.

No one at the Sudan office of the World Bank, where El Roubi works as a communications specialist, was able to comment.

The Washington-based Bank works to fight global poverty.

Sudan's government says it has arrested hundreds of "criminals" after last week's protests.

Authorities say 34 people died after petrol and diesel prices jumped, sending thousands into the streets in the worst urban unrest during Bashir's 24-year rule.

Activists and international human rights groups said at least 50 people were gunned down, most of them in the greater Khartoum area.

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