In Sudan, the trial of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir over the military coup that brought him to power over 30 years ago began today. The autocratic ruler, who fell after months of protests by the population last year, faces the death penalty for attacking the constitutional order.
The 76-year-old had already been sentenced to two years in prison for corruption in December and is in custody. Bashir is accused of using the military to overthrow Prime Minister Sadek al-Mahdi’s democratically elected government in 1989.
Strict security precautions
The trial in Khartoum against him and 27 co-accused is the first in recent history of the Arab world to bring the person responsible for a successful coup to justice. Bashir’s defense speaks of a „political process“.
The process takes place under extremely high security precautions. The defendants were caged in the courtroom. Relatives of the defendants called „Allahu Akbar“ (God is great) at the start of the trial when the defendants were brought to justice.
