Renk, July 17(Darfur 24)The trial of 30 South Sudanese students in the Sudanese city of Al-Jabalain, White Nile State, was held on charges of illegally entering Sudan after sitting for the Sudanese National Certificate examinations.
Local sources told Darfur 24 that the students, who sat for the postponed 2024 exams after receiving their exam numbers from the Sudanese Ministry of Education, were detained by police on charges of illegally entering Sudanese territory.
Abu Bakr Abdullah Ahmed, a Sudanese citizen residing in Renk, South Sudan, told Darfur 24 that the detained students study at the Sudanese school in Renk. They traveled to Al-Jabalain in Sudan to take their exams after receiving their exam numbers. Sudanese Authorities allowed them to cross through the Joda border crossing between the two countries.
He explained that the authorities did not intercept them during the exams, but upon their return, they were surprised to find themselves detained by the police and brought to trial on charges of violating immigration laws and entering Sudan without a visa or prior permission.
He added that the court issued a ruling fining each student 100,000 Sudanese pounds, and that they were released after paying the fine.
He indicated that the students’ families sought the help of the Sudanese community in Renk, who transferred the funds via banking applications, which resulted in their release.
For his part, a source in the Sudanese Ministry of Education, who preferred to remain anonymous due to lack of authorization to comment on the issue, said that the federal ministry is not a party to the case involving the security authorities. He explained that the ministry is aware of foreign students participating in the Sudanese secondary school certificate exams after paying administrative fees in foreign currency.