Sudan Court of Appeal denies request by Al Bashir’s lawyers

The Sudanese High Court of Appeal has turned down the request by the lawyers of ousted President Omar Al Bashir to acquit him of two-years imprisonment for corruption and other fraudulent activities.

The appeal court in Khartoum, made up of three judges, cancelled the appeal submitted by Al Bashir’s defence council on Wednesday.

In December last year, the former dictator was convicted on charges of corruption and currency irregularities, and sentenced to two years in a ‘correctional facility’ designed for older prisoners.

The judge ordered the millions of Euros, Dollars, and billions of Sudanese Pounds found in Al Bashir’s residence after he was deposed, to be forfeited to the state.

The second wife of Al Bashir, Widad Babikr, was arrested from her home in Khartoum North in December, on charges of illegal ownership of wealth and suspicious richness.

Other charges

In December last year as well, the Public Prosecution began preparing charges against Al Bashir and his aides for crimes against humanity committed between 1989 to 2019.

In the same month, Sudan’s Attorney General filed charges against Omar Al Bashir, Abdelrahim Hussein, Ahmed Haroun, and 52 others with crimes committed in Darfur since the war broke out in 2003.

On February 10, during peace talks in Juba, capital of South Sudan, the Sudanese government and the armed movements agreed to extradite Al Bashir and others to The Hague. They have been indicted by the International Criminal Court concerning crimes in Darfur in the period 2003-2005.

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

The ousted president has also been accused of involvement in the killing of protesters since the intifada against him began in December 2018.

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.