Guards at the entrance of Omdurman prison.

More than 1,000 South Sudanese inmates have been released from the prisons in Sudan.

The inmates who were serving time for various crimes, including fighting and theft were released to decongest the prisons following the outbreak of the coronavirus.

As of Monday, Sudan recorded 678 coronavirus cases, with 41 deaths.

The virus is mainly transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or exhales.

You can be infected by breathing in the virus if you are within proximity of someone who has coronavirus, or by touching a contaminated surface and then your eyes, nose or mouth.

A South Sudanese Activist in Khartoum, Achol Malong said the prisoners were released to protect them from contracting the virus.

“Those released are from Omdurman, Dar es Salaam, and Libya prisons. They are about 1,150,” Ms Achol told Eye Radio.

In March, Sudan ordered the release of thousands of prisoners to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading in the country’s jails.

State media reported that the first batch of 4,217 prisoners were released from al-Hoda prison in the city of Omdurman, a twin city of the capital Khartoum.

Achol Malong said among those released are 130 South Sudanese serving time for crimes related to murder.

She, however, added that there is fear over reprisals from families of those wronged by the inmates.

“They are worried about them because if they release them maybe they will get attacked by relatives of those that were killed.”

Inmates have severally appealed to governments to decongest correctional facilities as advised by human rights watchdogs.

The decongestion of prisons is aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus to jails.

Achol Malong confirmed that those released were assisted by the UNHCR. Others are still on lockdown.

It is not clear how many women and men were released in the two areas.

“From 600 inmates, the remaining South Sudanese women in prison are 100,” she revealed.

This is one among several mass releases of South Sudanese inmates in Sudan.

In March, the new government in Sudan released 35 South Sudanese prisoners of war who were captured during the 2012 Heglig fighting.

They were then sentenced to death for war and terrorism-related crimes.

In October 2019, South Sudanese images; 15 women and 15 men were released from various prisons of El-Huda, Omdurman, Kober and El-Obeid where they were charged with various crimes – ranging from murder to drug dealing in Sudan.

Some of them have been reportedly in jail for more than 20 years.