Pastor's Son Freed After More Than a Year in Sudan's Kobar Prison
Amin Ismail was arrested the day after he came back to Khartoum to see his wife. Advocates say the courts kept finding him innocent.
KHARTOUM, Sudan —
Amin Ismail, the son of a Sudanese pastor, has been released from Kobar Prison in Khartoum after more than a year behind bars, the U.S.-based advocacy group International Christian Concern (ICC) reported this week.
According to ICC, Ismail was arrested in July 2025, the day after he returned to Khartoum to visit his wife. The group says he had committed no crime and that courts repeatedly found him innocent, yet he stayed in prison.
ICC ties the case to his father, Pastor Ismail Azzaz, who the group says refused government pressure to hand over church land and later fled the country. ICC also reports that a powerful man in the capital wanted Ismail's wife, and that Ismail faced threats, including a suspected plan to have him killed after his release.
Ismail is now staying at a safe location inside Khartoum, the group said.
“I thank God for my release, and I am deeply grateful to ICC for their prayers and the help they gave,” Ismail said in a statement shared by ICC.
Sudan has been torn by civil war between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. Watchman News has not independently confirmed the details of Ismail's case, which come from ICC's reporting.
