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Africa Horn
Sudan’s deposed al-Bashir questioned over 1989 coup: Lawyer
2019-12-11
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Sudan’s former President Omar al-Bashir
...Former President-for-Life of Sudan He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself head cheese. He fell out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Hee was overthrown by popular consent in 2019. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it...
appeared on Tuesday before a prosecutors’ committee over the 1989 coup that brought him to power, his lawyer said.

Al-Bashir was "brought to be investigated in the case of the alleged 1989 coup," said his lawyer, Mohammed al-Hassan, who did not attend the hearing.

The lawyer also told news hounds that in his view the hearing was "not a judicial matter, it’s a political matter."

In 1989, al-Bashir, a brigadier at the time, seized power in an Islamist-backed coup that toppled the elected government of prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi.

The former president was himself ousted by the army in April of this year after months of nationwide protests against his iron-fisted rule of three decades.

On November 12, Sudanese authorities filed charges against al-Bashir and some of his aides for "plotting" the 1989 coup. The prosecution established a special committee for the case.

If found guilty, he could face the death penalty
or life imprisonment under Sudanese law.

Sudan is now ruled by a joint civilian and military sovereign council, which is tasked with overseeing a transition to civilian rule as demanded by the protest movement.

Al-Bashir is being held in Kober prison in a separate case, for which he has been on trial since August, on charges of illegally acquiring and using foreign funds.

A verdict is due in that case on Saturday.

On Tuesday, al-Bashir was taken from Kober prison to the prosecutor’s office in a convoy under strong armed protection.

After the hearing, which lasted about an hour, a crowd gathered in front of the prosecutor’s office, chanting "Kober prison - the best place for you!" and "you killed people!"

Wearing the traditional white Sudanese jalabiya and turban, al-Bashir raised his hands to the crowd, before he set off back toward Kober in the convoy.

Related:
Omar al-Bashir: 2019-12-08 Clipping Islamist wings in Sudan
Omar al-Bashir: 2019-12-06 Palestinians outraged over ICC report into war crimes
Omar al-Bashir: 2019-12-06 Sudan PM sees progress on US terror list removal
Related:
Sadiq al-Mahdi: 2019-12-08 Clipping Islamist wings in Sudan
Sadiq al-Mahdi: 2019-12-01 Sudan overturns moral policing law, disbands ex-ruling party
Sadiq al-Mahdi: 2019-11-29 Sudan approves law to ‘dismantle’ former regime of Omar al-Bashir
Posted by:Fred

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