Sudan anti-corruption watchdog: Al Bashir to face new graft charges

Sudan’s Anti-Corruption Committee is planning to file ‘several new complaints’ against deposed president Al Bashir regarding money laundering, corruption, and forbidden and suspicious wealth.

In a statement on Friday, Sovereign Council spokesman and Deputy Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee, Mohamed El Faki, attributed the hiatus in policies regarding the dismantling and deconstructing the ‘deep state’ to the delay in passing the law in question.

In an interview with the Arabic Sky News satellite channel, El Faki said that he expected the issue regarding the appointment of state governors and the Legislative Council will be resolve after the Eid El Fitr holiday.

“The committee’s decision about the unlawful and arbitrarily dismissal of civil servants during the former regime will come up after Eid El Fitir,” he added. El Faki asserted that the committee “will reveal the depth of corruption of the Muslim Brotherhood Organisation in Sudan”.

El Faki also emphasised that the transitional government does not have a stance against handing Al Bashir over to the International Criminal Court to stand trial. “However, the decision to transfer Al Bashir to the Hague is associated with national politics, legal, and social aspects,” he said.

Convicted

On December 14 2019, Al Bashir, who ruled the country for 30 years and was deposed by a military coup on April 11, 2019, was convicted on charges of corruption and currency irregularities, and sentenced to two years in a ‘correctional facility’ designed for older prisoners.

He is still being held in Khartoum’s Kober Prison, which became notorious under his regime for holding countless political detainees, many of whom were tortured or worse. Al Bashir is awaiting trial on further charges regarding the killing of demonstrators following the violent dismantling of the sit-in in front of the army command in Khartoum on June 3, 2019.

On March 31, the public prosecutor formally charged Al Bashir, several of his senior military aides, and a number of Islamist leaders of undermining the constitutional order more than 30 years ago.

In June 1989, the ousted president led a military coup against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister El Sadig El Mahdi and President Ahmed El Mirghani.

Al Bashir and his affiliates have also been charged with abuse of power and corruption between 1989 and 2019.

ICC

In 2007, the International Criminal Court (IUCC) in The Hague issued arrest warrants against former Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Ahmed Haroun, and former janjaweed leader Ali ‘Kushayb’ for numerous counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The court issued a first arrest warrant against Al Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2009. The second indictment, for genocide committed against the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa tribes in Darfur, followed a year later.

A warrant against former Minister of Interior Affairs, Abdelrahim Hussein, was issued in 2012, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur.

Al Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

On February 10, during peace talks in Juba, the Sudanese government and the armed movements agreed to extradite Al Bashir and others to The Hague.

Radio Dabanga’s editorial independence means that we can continue to provide factual updates about political developments to Sudanese and international actors, educate people about how to avoid outbreaks of infectious diseases, and provide a window to the world for those in all corners of Sudan. Support Radio Dabanga for as little as €2.50, the equivalent of a cup of coffee.