Sudan charges Al Bashir’s brothers, Islamist cleric for ill-gotten gains

The prosecutor of Sudan’s Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism-Financing Department issued arrest warrants against two brothers of ousted dictator Omar Al Bashir and prominent Islamist cleric Abdelhay Yousef on charges related to terrorism.

On Thursday, prosecutor Ahmed Suliman of the Department seized El Nour Islamic Complex in the Kafouri neighbourhood in Khartoum North. The complex was built by ousted president Al Bashir.

The prosecutor issued arrest warrants against Yousef, who is Imam of El Mursalin Mosque in Jabra, on charges of dealing with terrorism under Article 35 of the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act.

Yousef reportedly left Sudan to participate in a conference and has not returned to the country.

The prosecutor also issued arrest warrants against Ali Al Bashir and Mohamed Al Bashir, both brothers of the former dictator, for charges related to the unlawful acquisition of land in Kafouri Square 9, and lands in Ed Damazin, capital of Blue Nile state.

Radio Dabanga reported in late December 2019 that an arrest warrant was issued for Yousef, based on a complaint against him filed by Sudan’s Minister of Youth and Sports concerning defamation of character and abuse.

The Imam attacked El Boushi after the opening of the first women’s football league, accusing her of infidelity as she is a member of the Republican Party that was set up by the Sudanese Muslim thinker Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, who was executed in January 1985 by the regime of Jaafar Nimeiri.

‘Illegal wealth’

A second arrest warrant was issued against Yousef, concerning “the ownership of illegal wealth”, as he allegedly received an amount of $5 million from the ousted president Omar Al Bashir for the support of the Teiba satellite channel.

The Khartoum Public Prosecutor said in December that during questioning, Al Bashir mentioned a number of people he had given significant amounts of money to, including the Imam.

On December 14, Al Bashir, who ruled the country for 30 years and was deposed by a military coup on April 11, 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, as he 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 22 December, Sudan’s Attorney General Tajelsir El Hibir also filed criminal charges against Al Bashir, former Minister of Defence Abdelrahim Hussein, former Interior Minister Ahmed Haroun, former Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb and 51 others with crimes committed in Darfur since the war broke out in 2003.

In mid-December, the second wife of ousted president Omar Al Bashir was arrested from her home in Khartoum North, on charges of illegal ownership of wealth and suspicious richness. Widad Babikr was questioned about her bank accounts and the possession of residential lands and real estate – which have been frozen by the prosecution.