The trial of Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s former president is set to begin today, Tuesday 21 July, over his role in the military coup that brought about his regime in 1989.
Al-Bashir who is already in detention for corruption charges could be sentenced to death if he is found guilty of the new charge
The 76-year-old will be tried alongside 16 other accused persons in Khartoum.
The trial comes as Sudan’s post-revolution transitional government has introduced a number of reforms in expectation of fully making a comeback in the international community.
The country has also agreed to transfer al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court to be prosecuted for alleged war crimes and genocide charges related to the Darfur conflict, which claimed the lives of 300,000 people and displaced millions in a scorched earth campaign against a 2003 insurgency.
AFP quotes Moaz Hadra, one of the lawyers who led the push to bring the case to court to have said, “This trial will be a warning to anyone who tries to destroy the constitutional system.”
“This will safeguard Sudanese democracy. In this way, we hope to bring an end to the era of putsches in Sudan.”
Source: CGTN Africa