Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced long-time autocratic president Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum. Photo: AP Photo
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3014434/sudans-public-prosecutors-charge-jailed-former-president-omar-al Africa
Sudan’s public prosecutors charge jailed former president Omar al-Bashir with corruption
- Without giving specific information, the public prosecutor’s office said the charges related to ‘suspected illicit wealth and emergency orders’
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir attends a graduation ceremony in 2009 at an air force academy near Khartoum, Sudan. Photo: AP Photo
The jailed former president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, has been charged with corruption after the completion of an investigation, the state prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
Bashir was overthrown and arrested in a coup by the military on April 11 after months of mass protests against his autocratic 30-year rule.
The charges were related to laws on “suspected illicit wealth and emergency orders”, the public prosecutor’s office said without giving more details.
Bashir had already been charged in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters.
Prosecutors had also ordered his interrogation on suspicion of money laundering and financing terrorism.
It has not been possible to get a comment from Bashir since his ousting.
Sudan was placed on a US list of sponsors of terrorism under Bashir, an Islamist former general who is also under indictment by the International Court of Justice over war crimes in the country’s western Darfur region.
On Wednesday, the top US diplomat for Africa joined an international effort to press Sudan’s military rulers and the opposition toward a deal on a transition to democracy after the toppling of Bashir.
Stability in Sudan is crucial for a volatile region struggling against Islamist insurgencies from the Horn of Africa to Egypt and Libya. Various powers, including Russia and the Gulf Arab states, are trying to influence its path.