Washington:
American actor George Clooney and his father, Nick Clooney, were released from a Washington, DC jail on Friday, hours after being arrested during a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy.
The protesters accused Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of provoking a humanitarian crisis and blocking food and aid from entering the Nuba Mountains in the county's border region with South Sudan.Clooney, his father and others were arrested after being warned three times not to cross a police line outside the embassy.
Those taken into custody included civil rights leaders Ben Jealous and Martin Luther King III, and actor and comedian Dick Gregory.
Several members of US Congress were also arrested.
Clooney was released several hours later after paying a fine of 100 US dollars (75 euros).
Speaking to reporters after his release, Clooney said the aim of Friday's arrests were to "bring attention to an ongoing emergency," adding that one of the ways to do that was to get arrested.
He said there is "about a six week timetable before the rainy season starts" and a narrow window to get aid to the Nuban people of Sudan.
Journalist Nick Clooney said both he and his son had been struck by the tragedy in Sudan since they first visited the area in 2006.
Clooney also told reporters that Friday's arrest was his first and, he hoped, his last.
The arrests came after Clooney met this week with President Barack Obama, testified in the Senate and attended a state dinner for British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Clooney said before his arrest that he can only hope to draw attention to the crisis in Sudan but that he doesn't know if any progress has been made.
The actor said he asked Obama to involve China more in pushing for a solution in Sudan.
A YouTube video Clooney recently posted online from his trip to Sudan appears to show a Chinese-made missile being used against the Nuba community.
Clooney asserts that the Sudanese government is deliberately witholding food supplies to the population of the arid, isolated mountain region, which has a long history of conflict with Khartoum.
The protesters accused Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of provoking a humanitarian crisis and blocking food and aid from entering the Nuba Mountains in the county's border region with South Sudan.Clooney, his father and others were arrested after being warned three times not to cross a police line outside the embassy.
Those taken into custody included civil rights leaders Ben Jealous and Martin Luther King III, and actor and comedian Dick Gregory.
Several members of US Congress were also arrested.
Clooney was released several hours later after paying a fine of 100 US dollars (75 euros).
Speaking to reporters after his release, Clooney said the aim of Friday's arrests were to "bring attention to an ongoing emergency," adding that one of the ways to do that was to get arrested.
He said there is "about a six week timetable before the rainy season starts" and a narrow window to get aid to the Nuban people of Sudan.
Journalist Nick Clooney said both he and his son had been struck by the tragedy in Sudan since they first visited the area in 2006.
Clooney also told reporters that Friday's arrest was his first and, he hoped, his last.
The arrests came after Clooney met this week with President Barack Obama, testified in the Senate and attended a state dinner for British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Clooney said before his arrest that he can only hope to draw attention to the crisis in Sudan but that he doesn't know if any progress has been made.
The actor said he asked Obama to involve China more in pushing for a solution in Sudan.
A YouTube video Clooney recently posted online from his trip to Sudan appears to show a Chinese-made missile being used against the Nuba community.
Clooney asserts that the Sudanese government is deliberately witholding food supplies to the population of the arid, isolated mountain region, which has a long history of conflict with Khartoum.
