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Sudan Tribune

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Sudan’s former President al-Bashir returns to jail from hospital

Al-Bashir trial

Sudan's ousted president Omer al-Bashir gets out of a car to attend his trial at a Khartoum court AFP Photo

November 9, 2022 (KHARTOUM) –  Judicial authorities decided on Wednesday to return to prison the ousted President Omer al-Bashir and a number of Islamist leaders after many months spent in private hospitals.

Hashim Aljaali, a member of al-Bashir’s defence team, told Sudan Tribune that they have been informed that the penitentiary authorities decided to bring back to Kober prison al-Bashir and other incarcerated Islamists.

“The family of one of the defendants informed us that the Kober prison administration asked them to provide some personal needs as they prepare to remit them from the hospital to the prison,” Aljaali said on Wednesday evening.

He added that the decision to move the jailed Islamists to prison includes al-Bashir, former Vice-President Bakri Hassan Salih, former Interior Minister, Ali al-Haj PCP Secretary-General and Ibrahim Alsanosi Head of the PCP’s Shura Council.

Al-Bashir along with some 33 other Islamist leaders are on trial for organizing a military coup on June 30, 1989, overthrowing a democratically elected government. All the defendants were members of the National Islamic Front (NIF) headed by the late Hassan al-Turabi.

However, after a coup against the transitional civilian government in October 2021, al-Bashir and other Islamist defendants have been transferred from prison to the army’s Alia Hospital for treatment. They have been absent from the court for about ten months.

The defence lawyers regularly provide the court with medical reports attesting that they need to remain under medical supervision.

For his part, Abu Bakr Abdel Razek a member of the Defence team for the PCP detainees confirmed to Sudan Tribune that Ali al-Haj and Alsanosi were remitted from the hospital to the prison.

“A security force came to the hospital around 9.00 pm to complete the remission process, and we do not know until the moment who is behind the decision,” Abdel Razek told Sudan Tribune.

On October 29, Sudanese Islamists held a rally in Khartoum to protest against the UNITAMS mission but in fact, the orators at the demonstration addressed strong messages to al-Burhan warning him against any compromise leading to bringing to power again the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC).

In response; al-Burhan for the first time openly slammed the National Congress Party and warned them that the army would not tolerate any attempt by the Islamists to use the army to return to power.

The spokesman for the prosecution lawyers in the trial of the 1989 coup, Muez Hadra, described the remission of the indicted Islamists to prison as “the right decision”.

“The prison is their natural place, like the other defendants.” he further told Sudan Tribune.

(ST)