Detained Sudan politician needs doctor: Amnesty

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Human rights activists have called on Sudanese authorities to allow a detained opposition politician to see his doctor.

Mubarak al-Fadil, head of the Umma breakaway opposition party, is one of 25 detained and accused of plotting to overthrow the government. He has been held for almost a month without medical care, Amnesty said.

"Amnesty International is calling for Mubarak al-Fadil al-Mahdi to have access to medical care while in detention, including access to his own doctor as provided for in international standards," it said in a statement seen by Reuters on Sunday.

"If not promptly charged with a recognizable criminal offence, he should be released to seek the medical investigation and treatment he requires."

Al-Fadil needs medication for high cholesterol and had been due to seek medical attention in London in July for "a number of related gastro-esophageal problems", Amnesty said.

Justice Minister Mohamed Ali al-Mardi confirmed on Sunday to Reuters reports by a Sudanese paper that 25 people were being held on charges including "calling for resistance (to) the power structure through use of violence or criminal force, inciting war against the state and destruction of the constitutional system".

Sudanese officials earlier said 44 were originally detained.

Mardi declined to say whether al-Fadil, or other opposition politicians detained including Ali Mahmoud Hassanein from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), were among the 25.

Party officials from the Umma breakaway and the DUP said the two men were still being held.