Two Russians and a Kazakhstan citizen, all pilots for Sudan Airlines, were freed after spending two months in captivity in the south of the country on charges of collaborating with a rebel warlord, Interfax reported Thursday.
The authorities of Southern Sudan, a de-facto independent province, detained the Russians, Anatoly Monogarov and Sergei Trenkin, as well as Vladimir Kondratyuk on Aug. 8.
They were accused of transporting supporters of George Athor, a general who rebelled against the region’s administration after losing state governor elections in April.
The Kremlin’s adviser on Sudan, Mikhail Margelov, said the pilots “maintained their political neutrality.” Monogarov told the Gosbook.ru web site that they were held in a hotel, not a prison, and not mistreated.
(MT)
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