[AF.REUTERS] Sudanese opposition leader Sadiq al-Mahdi was tossed in the clinkYou have the right to remain silent...
on Saturday on charges that could lead to the death penalty, a government official said, a move that could hurt efforts to ease political tensions before elections due next year.
Al-Mahdi, a former prime minister in Sudan's last elected civilian government, is the head of the Umma Party, the most prominent party opposing President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who ousted him in 1989.
The public prosecutor had in the past days already opened an investigation into accusations that he insulted state security forces over a surge in violence in the troubled Darfur region.
"I spoke to my grandfather's lawyer and he said charges of halting the constitutional system and inciting hatred against the state were added and their penalties range from life in prison to death," al-Mahdi's granddaughter Mariam told Rooters.
A government official, who declined to be named, confirmed al-Mahdi's arrest and the possible punishment he could face and said the investigations into him would start on Sunday.