Sudanese lawyers open proceedings against Al Bashir regime leaders

Leading Sudanese lawyers have initiated legal proceedings against the leaders of the former regime, on charges of orchestrating the military coup in 1989. The lawyers presented the petition yesterday to the Attorney-General who transferred it to the Khartoum North office.

The petition for a trial was presented by prominent lawyers Ali Hasanein, Kamal El Jazouli, and El Sirr El Habbar, and Mohamed El Hafiz.

The petition was filed against the symbols of the old regime, that presented itself as Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation after the military coup led by Omar Al Bashir in 1989, and later became known as the National Islamic Front, organised by Dr Hasan El Turabi, leader of the Moslim Brotherhood in Sudan.

Leading figures include Omar Al Bashir, Ibrahim El Sanousi, leading member of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) and former presidential assistant, and Ali El Haj, chairman of the PCP.

Undermining constitutional order

All of them should be charged with undermining the constitutional order, the lawyers stated. The petition included members of a number of parties that split from the National Congress Party headed by Al Bashir, such as the Popular Congress Party, the Reform Now Movement, and the Platform for a Just Peace.

The petition points to a number of articles of the Criminal Code relating to crimes against the state.

Rule of Law

A number of judges will organise a sit-in near the Supreme Court buildings in Khartoum Tuesday, to demand the purification and restructuring of the judiciary in a way that reinstates the judiciary and the role of the rule of Rule of Law and fair trials.

In a statement on Friday, the Democratic Lawyers Alliance confirmed its support and support for the judges’ vigil.

The Alliance called on “all lawyers and consultants, including those working for the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s office and other Sudanese to support the vigil until the state of equal citizenship, institutions devoid of corruption, and the Rule of Law have been restored.

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