Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir ordered the renewal of a house arrest order against his ousted right-hand man, Islamist ideologue Hassan al-Turabi, the official SUNA news agency reported. President Beshir, on the basis of Article 132 of the constitution and Article 15 of the Law on Emergency and Public Security of 1998, has taken an extraordinary decision to extend the detention of Hassan Abdullah al-Turabi, for a renewable period of one year," the news agency said.

Confusion had reigned over Turabi's fate after a top judge announced Saturday that the Constitutional Court had ordered the leading Islamist's release, only to be contradicted by one of his colleagues.

Long considered the power behind Khartoum's Islamist-backed military regime, Turabi was detained and placed under house arrest in 2001 after falling out with Beshir.

GOVERNMENT DIFFERENCES BLAMED FOR ABORTED RELEASE

Speaking from Khartoum to AFP in Cairo, Turabi's lawyer, Mohamed al-Hassan al-Amin, said that "differences within the executive body" over Turabi's fate could be the reason behind the aborted release order.

According to SUNA's report, "the constitutional court has denied that it had issued instructions or orders to release Dr Hassan al-Turabi."

"Constitutional court chairman Jalal Ali Lutfi denied the story and told SUNA that said there was a complaint (against Turabi) before the concerned judge, Ali Yahia, which has not yet been resolved," the agency added.

But Amin repeated that Yahia, the judge handling Turabi's case in the constitutional court, told him Saturday morning that the security services were instructed to free Turabi because the custody period had expired.

According to Amin, Yahia was not at the time aware of any new charges against Turabi to justify an extension of custody.

Turabi, who helped President President Omar al-Beshir seize power in a 1989 coup, was arrested with four colleagues on charges of trying to undermine the constitution and of waging war against the state.

The government held Turabi first in a prison, before transferring him in October to a government detention house in Khartoum's Kafouri suburb, where his wife Wisal al-Mahdi was allowed to stay.

The crackdown came after Turabi and his colleagues signed a memorandum of understanding with the southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) at war with the central government in Khartoum since 1983.

Turabi's arrest also capped a power struggle with Beshir who dismissed the Islamist ideologue from his powerful post of parliamentary speaker in December 1999.

Beshir last May ruled out reconciliation with his old ally, but a recent agreement between his regime and the SPLA, as well as measures he took to widen political participation, seemed to open the way for a rapprochement with Turabi.

PHOTO CAPTION

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir ordered the renewal of a house arrest order against his ousted right-hand man, Islamist ideologue Hassan al-Turabi, Sunday, Aug 18, 2002.