Omar al-Bashir faces trial over 89 coup in Sudan

Sudan’s former President Omar al-Bashir faces trial over a military coup against a democratically elected government that brought him to power more than three decades ago.

He will be in the dock with ten military personnel and six civilians, including his former Vice Presidents Ali Osman Taha and Bakri Hassan Saleh, as well as former ministers and governors at 0800 GMT on Tuesday.

Sudan’s post-Bashir transitional government had launched a series of reforms to soothe public anger.

Moaz Hadra, one of the lawyers who led the push to bring the case to court, said Bashir and Saleh “have totally refused to cooperate with the commission of inquiry, but they will be present at the court.”

The accused, he added, are charged over crimes that carry the death penalty for attempting to “destroy” the constitutional order.

“This is the first time someone who launches a coup will be brought to justice” in Sudan, he said.

Sudan has seen three coups since 1956.

“This trial will be a warning to anyone who tries to destroy the constitutional system.”

Hadra defended the trial as a means of safeguarding “Sudanese democracy.” He hoped the legal proceedings will eventually end “the era of putsches in Sudan.”

Hashem al-Gali, a defense lawyer, argues that Bashir’s overthrow of the government of Prime Minister Sadek al-Mahdi took place so long ago that it was beyond the statute of limitations and should therefore no longer be dealt with by a court.

Bashir, 76, who is already behind bars for corruption, could face the death penalty if convicted over his 1989 coup.

Sudan has pledged to hand him over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face trial on war crimes and genocide charges related to the 2003 Darfur conflict, which left 300,000 people dead and millions displaced.