For 1st time, Sudan’s Bashir stands trial for corruption

CAIRO – 19 August 2019:Amid heightened security measures, the first trial of ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir over the charges of corruption was held on Monday at the Judicial and Legal Science Institute in Khartoum.

The first trial was scheduled to convene late July; however, it was postponed due to his absence for security reasons.

On June 15, 2019, Sudanese Attorney-General Al-WalidSayed Ahmed Mahmoud announced that Bashir and his men face dozens of criminal charges of corruption.

Former President Bashir was ousted by the military on April 11, 2019. Since then the interim military council has ruled the country and could rule for two years until electing a new democratic government.

Investigations with Bashir and his aides were launched on May 2, BBC reported, adding that €7.3 million were confiscated in his house.

The ousted president was indicted by the U.N.’s International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide. In March 2009, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges that he and his Arab tribal allies were responsible for genocide against non-Arab Sudanese in Darfur, South Sudan, committing crimes against humanity.

According toU.N. statistics collected on the Darfur Genocide from August 2007, more than 200,000 people were killed and at least 2 million others have been displaced from their homes since fighting broke out in 2003 between government forces and their allies the Arab tribal Janjaweed militias on one side, and rebel groups on the other side.

Bashir’s trial came two days after the signature ofan agreement to pave the way for civilian rule between the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC) on August 17.