George Clooney has been arrested for civil disobedience during a demonstration outside Sudan’s embassy in Washington DC. The actor was taking part in a protest to warn of a humanitarian crisis in the volatile border area between Sudan and South Sudan. He was detained alongside his father, Nick, but both have now been released after paying bail of $100 (£63). George Clooney is a keen Sudan activist and has visited the area several times. Speaking to reporters following his release, Clooney said his key concern was the fate of those in the region. “Best estimate is tens of thousands of people are going to die from starvation-this isn’t a famine, this is a man-made tragedy by the government of Khartoum to get these people to leave. You never know if you are accomplishing anything. We hope it helps,” Clooney said. The Hollywood star, his father and fellow activists had been led away in handcuffs after reportedly ignoring repeated police warnings to leave the embassy grounds. He was released three hours later after paying the bail fee. Clooney was arrested for crossing a police line at the Sudan embassy and was transported to the Metropolitan police department second district. George Clooney’s arrest comes a day after he met President Barack Obama at the White House to discuss the Sudan situation. Ahead of the rally, he said he thought the president was “very engaged” on the issue of Sudan. The actor recently secretly travelled across the border to the Nuba Mountains in Sudan, where his group apparently witnessed a rocket attack. A YouTube video of the visit was uploaded. He told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week that what was happening in the region was “ominously similar” to the violence in Darfur.
