Sudanese president reportedly orders release of coup attempt convicts
April 11, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir has reportedly signed a decree granting amnesty to military officers sentenced to jail terms and expulsion from army over their role in the alleged coup attempt thwarted almost six months ago.
This week the Sudanese army spokesperson Colonel al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad made an announcement declaring that the convicts made a plea to president Bashir to issue a pardon and have them freed from prison.
But Col. Sa’ad’s revelation was met with wide skepticism among observers who assert that the officers confessed to their role in the coup attempt making it implausible that they would turn around and ask for reprieve.
A source with knowledge of the investigation into the coup attempt scoffed at the spokesperson’s statement saying that the government was looking for a way out from the case which threatened to widen an increasing rift within the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and its Islamic base.
However it is understood that the lawyers have made the request to Bashir on behalf of their clients’ consent.
Sudanese authorities announced last November that they have arrested 13 suspects in the first wave of arrests in connection with the coup plot including ex-spy chief Salah Gosh and Brigadier General Mohamed Ibrahim Abdel-Galil who at one point served on Bashir’s security detail.
While military officers stood trial, those who were part of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) including Gosh have yet to be prosecuted. It is not expected that they will benefit from Bashir’s pardon.
On Sunday, a military court sentenced seven of the arrested army officers to prison terms ranging between two to five years and discharged them from the military service.
They were found guilty of planning to undermine the constitutional and security order as well as endangering the army and the country’s unity.
Two other army officers were acquitted including one who agreed to serve as a corroborative witness for the prosecution.
(ST)