Sudanese civilians detained for talking to foreigners.

Darfuri civilians are regularly being imprisoned or harassed by Sudanese authorities for talking to foreigners about the Darfur conflict, according to a Tuesday statement from Amnesty International .  According to Amnesty: Scores of people have been arrested since the end of June 2004 in various parts of Darfur for talking to foreign government leaders, including US Secretary of State Colin Powell and French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, members of the African Union (AU) Ceasefire Commission and independent journalists or for speaking out on the crisis in Darfur. Amnesty counted at least 50 people arrested, including 15 men detained at the Abu Shouk camp after Powell's June 30 visit, and another five taken from there after French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier's July 27 trip. A State Department official called the reports "of serious concern." [more] and [more]