Sudan's former President Omar al-Bashir has arrived at court to face corruption charges, which his lawyers say... </s> Omar al-Bashir, pictured in 2015, has 94 lawyers defending corruption charges but is also being pursued for crimes against humanity Morwan Ali/EPA

Sudan’s toppled military ruler Omar al-Bashir has appeared in court under heavy guard to face trial on corruption charges.

An army convoy took Bashir, 75, from prison in Khartoum to the special, closed hearing, four months after he was toppled by his senior generals.

Charges of possessing foreign currency, corruption and illegally receiving gifts were brought after $113 million in cash in three currencies was seized from the despot’s residence. The former president, who was dressed in traditional white djellaba robes and a turban, has 94 lawyers in his defence team. They are expected to argue for the case to be thrown out.

His trial will be a test of how serious Sudan’s military junta is about breaking with the Bashir era, which was marked… </s> KHARTOUM, Aug. 19 (Xinhua/GNA) - Trial of Sudan's former President Omar al-Bashir started in Khartoum on Monday on charges related to corruption, possession of foreign currency and illicit wealth, according to a Xinhua correspondent.

Al-Bashir arrived at the court in Arkaweet neighbourhood in central Khartoum amid tight security measures.

The first session of al-Bashir's trial was supposed to begin last July 31, but it was delayed to Aug. 17 as he failed to appear before the court for security reasons.

The Aug. 17 session had been delayed once again as it coincided with the date of the signing ceremony of the transitional documents in Sudan.

The Sudanese army ousted al-Bashir from power on April 11 amid popular protests that erupted in December last year.

Following his ouster, the General Prosecution in Sudan raised charges against al-Bashir related to corruption, possession of foreign currency and illicit wealth after around US$113 million were found at his residence. </s> Sudan’s fomer president Omar al-Bashir appeared in court Monday to face corruption charges, four months after he was ousted by the military.

Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years, is charged with illegally possessing foreign currency and receiving gifts in an illegal manner. According to a detective who addressed the court, Bashir told investigators he had received millions of dollars in cash from Saudi Arabia.

Many Khartoum residents were disenchanted with the trial, many of them saying that it was too little and too late.

“The Bashir trial is a bit disappointing,” Abdullah Mahmoud told VOA. “They are just ignoring the elephant in the room – they are ignoring the genocide – he should be on trial for genocide and killing people first.”

The International Criminal Court has charged the former president with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his actions during the long-running war in Sudan’s Darfur region.

In May, Bashir was also charged with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters who challenged his rule. Four months of escalating protests prompted the military to remove Bashir from power on April 11.

The 75-year-old Bashir, dressed in traditional white robes, watched Monday’s proceedings from a cage inside the courtroom.

His lead defense attorney, Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir, told VOA’s Peter Clottey that the former president is confident of beating the corruption charges.

The attorney acknowledged that Bashir received money from abroad but said his client used the money for public purposes, such as funding hospitals.

“I think he’s very calm, he’s very confident and he’s sure that he’s very honest and innocent and nothing — not even a penny — went through the pockets of his family or of his friends from this money,” al-Tahir said.

Meanwhile, Sudan’s military leaders and the civilian-led opposition have named some members of the sovereign council that will lead the country in a power-sharing transitional government.

The military appointed two lieutenant generals, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo and Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan, who are widely blamed for attacks against protesters which killed at least 120 people on June 3.

“I think they should have been taken to court as well as al Bashir,” Nadr Ali, a young Khartoum resident, said. “They should have been jailed and justice should have taken place.” </s> Sudan’s deposed president Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for 30 years, arrived in court Monday in Khartoum for the start of his trial on corruption charges.

Bashir, 75, was forced from power on April 11, after months of protest against his regime and appeared before a prosecutor for the first time on June 16.

Now detained, the general was informed by the prosecutor’s office that he faced charges of “possessing foreign currency, corruption and receiving gifts illegally.”

An AFP reporter outside the Judicial and Legal Science Institute where the trial is taking place said Bashir arrived in a huge military convoy.

In April, Sudan’s army ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said more than $113 million worth of cash in three currencies had been seized from Bashir’s residence.

In May, the prosecutor general also said Bashir had been charged over killings during the anti-regime protests which eventually led to his ouster.

Protests against Bashir’s rule erupted on December 19 after his government tripled the price of bread.

The most serious indictments facing Bashir, who ruled the country since seizing power in a 1989 coup, have been filed by the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC).

They include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his role in the war in Darfur, where a rebellion erupted in 2003.

The United Nations says the conflict has left more than 300,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced, with hundreds of thousands still living in miserable and impoverished camps more than a decade and a half later.

The ICC has for years demanded that Bashir stand trial, and has renewed its call since his fall.

In a statement issued last week, Amnesty International warned that his graft trial should not distract from the heavier charges he faces in The Hague.

“While this trial is a positive step towards accountability for some of his alleged crimes, he remains wanted for heinous crimes committed against the Sudanese people,” Amnesty’s Joan Nyanyuki said.

Last Update: Monday, 19 August 2019 KSA 12:06 - GMT 09:06 </s> Sudan’s ousted president Omar al-Bashir on Monday arrived amid heavy security at the courthouse in the capital Khartoum where he is facing corruption charges, a Reuters witness said.

Bashir was charged with illicit possession of foreign currency and accepting gifts in an unofficial manner, prosecutor Alaa al-Din Abdallah said in June.

His trial will be a test of how serious the country’s authorities are about trying to erase the legacy of his 30-year rule, marked by widespread violence, economic collapse and the secession of South Sudan.

Bashir was also charged in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters, and prosecutors also want him questioned over suspected money laundering and terrorism financing.

On Saturday, Sudan’s ruling military council, which took over after Bashir’s ouster, signed a power-sharing agreement with the main opposition coalition, paving the way for a transitional government and eventual elections.

Stability in Sudan, which has been grappling with an economic crisis, is seen as crucial for a volatile region struggling with conflict and insurgencies from the Horn of Africa to Egypt and Libya. </s> Sudan's former president Omar al-Bashir is due to go on trial for corruption allegations, which brought down his 30-year rule.

The deposed leader, whose trial begins on Monday, faces charges related to "possessing foreign currency, corruption and receiving gifts illegally".

Bashir's trial comes against the backdrop of the country's struggle to form a sovereign council, the first step after the landmark adoption of a transitional constitution. On Saturday, protest leaders and the military signed a final power-sharing deal, paving the way for a transition to a civilian-led government.

Al-Bashir seized power in a military coup on June 30, 1989, and stayed in office until April 11, 2019, when he was overthrown and arrested by the armed forces.

His downfall was brought about by thousands of ordinary Sudanese from all walks of life who took to the streets for four months to demand an end to the 75-year-old's rule.

The demonstrations erupted over rising food prices before morphing into broader demands for political change, the culmination of years of anger over long-standing corruption and repression.

Prosecutors have also opened other criminal probes against al-Bashir, including on charges of money laundering, financing "terrorism" and "ordering the killing of protesters" - the latter is an offence that carries the death penalty in Sudan.

Ahead of the trial, Amnesty International's Director for East Africa Joan Nyanyuki said in a statement: "While this trial is a positive step towards accountability for some of his alleged crimes, he remains wanted for heinous crimes committed against the Sudanese people."

Over the course of his time in office, al-Bashir led Sudan through several conflicts and became wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged atrocities in Darfur. He was also the last man to lead a united Sudan, prior to South Sudan's independence in 2011.

Here's all you need to know about Sudan's toppled ruler.

Al-Bashir was born into a peasant family in 1944, in Hosh Wad Banaqa, northern Sudan, which until independence in 1955 was part of the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan. After finishing high school in the capital, Khartoum, he enrolled in a military academy in Egypt in 1960. In 1973, he was part of the Sudanese units that were sent to Egypt to fight in the October Arab-Israeli war.

In 1975, he was appointed as the military attache in the United Arab Emirates. Upon returning to Sudan, he was appointed garrison commander and, in 1981, he became the head of an armoured parachute brigade.

In the mid-1980s, he had a central role in the armed forces' campaign in the civil war in southern Sudan against the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army.

As a colonel in the Sudanese military, al-Bashir was well-positioned to lead a bloodless military coup in 1989 against Sadiq al-Mahdi, the prime minister of a democratically elected government.

Al-Bashir was subsequently appointed chairman of the Revolutionary Command Centre for National Salvation (RCC), which was established as a "transitional" government.

Having allied with Hassan al-Turabi, the speaker of the Sudanese parliament and head of the National Islamic Front, al-Bashir dissolved parliament, banned political parties and went on to introduce Islamic law.

The mainly animist and Christian southern Sudan rejected the introduction of the new legal system, and the decades-long north-south civil war intensified.

In 1993, al-Bashir abolished the RCC and appointed himself president of Sudan, but retained military rule.

Three years later, Sudan held presidential and parliamentary elections, and al-Bashir, running completely unopposed for president, won with 75 percent of the vote. He would eventually legalise the registration of political parties in 1999.

Later that year, al-Bashir removed al-Turabi from his post as parliament speaker and had him imprisoned. Al-Turabi had grown increasingly close to Muslim political groups unpopular in the West.

In 2000, al-Bashir was re-elected after winning 90 percent of a popular vote in an election described as a sham by the opposition.

Al-Bashir was the only serving head of state to be indicted for war crimes.

Although Bashir's government signed a peace deal in 2005 to end a years-long conflict between the north and south, the leader and several senior ministers in his cabinet have been criticised for what the United Nations has called "ethnic cleansing" during another conflict that broke out in the western province of Darfur.

The tribes of Darfur - home to several non-Arab tribes who rebelled against the government in 2003 - accused al-Bashir's administration of siding with Arab tribes in a decades-old fight over scarce resources among the province's communities.

The UN estimates that between 200,000 and 400,000 people died in the conflict, with a further 2.7 million displaced. But al-Bashir's government claimed that the UN, influenced by Western powers, had exaggerated the numbers.

In June 2008, the ICC charged al-Bashir with war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the ongoing attacks against Darfur's non-Arab ethnic groups. The ICC has since issued two arrest warrants against him.

Unless he is handed over to the ICC, it is unlikely that Bashir will be prosecuted for the alleged war crimes, according to legal experts.

"We have urged the Sudan authorities to hand al-Bashir over to the ICC to answer for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide," Ahmed Elzobeir, Sudan researcher at Amnesty International told Al Jazeera.

"Al-Bashir must face justice not only for recent national crimes but also for the historical crimes he committed under international law," he added.

The Sudanese legal system would not be able to prosecute al-Bashir for the alleged crimes because they were committed before Sudan introduced war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity to the Criminal Act in 2009, according to legal experts.

"His trial in Sudan would violate a basic legal principle, no one shall be convicted for acts committed before the law entered into force," explained Elzobeir.

Despite the arrest warrants, al-Bashir has visited several countries including Syria, Ethiopia, Libya, Qatar, Egypt and South Africa.

In 2010, al-Bashir was re-elected with roughly 68 percent of the vote. The opposition alleged fraud and election observers said the polls did not meet international standards.

The following year, southern Sudanese citizens overwhelmingly backed splitting from the north in a referendum, which led to the creation of the world's youngest country.

The 2011 secession of South Sudan deprived Sudan of the majority of its oil revenues and stoked spiralling inflation and widespread shortages.

As a result, opposition groups and ordinary citizens increasingly began expressing their anger with the inability of al-Bashir's government to address their grievances, improve economic conditions and introduce political reforms. </s> Sudan’s former President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has not been seen since he was deposed last week, has been moved to a prison in the capital Khartoum where he once confined those who challenged his rule of nearly 30 years, according to a former adviser to Mr. al-Bashir.

The throngs of Sudanese protesters who forced the ouster of Mr. al-Bashir last Thursday have demanded that he be arrested and put on trial. Until now, the military generals who have taken power said only that he was being held in a “safe place,” but did not say where.

Mr. al-Bashir is currently under indictment by the International Criminal Court at The Hague for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Those charges relate to the atrocities that his regime oversaw in the 2000s in Darfur, a province in the country’s west. It is unclear whether he will be extradited.

Mr. al-Bashir was taken to Kober prison in Khartoum, according to Osama Nabil Sobhi, the president of Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission, which served as an advisory board to Mr. al-Bashir. </s> A detective has told a court in Sudan that former President Omar al-Bashir admitted to receiving millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia.

Mr Bashir appeared in court on Monday to face corruption charges, which his lawyers say are baseless.

He was ousted in April after months of protests, bringing an end to his nearly 30 years in power.

In June, prosecutors said a large hoard of foreign currency had been found in grain sacks at his home.

On Sunday, pro-democracy activists and the country’s military leaders, who had removed Mr Bashir, signed a deal paving the way for elections.

The former president, dressed in white robes and a turban, appeared behind a cage. He made no comment on the allegations, Reuters news agency reports.

He spoke to confirm his name and laughed when asked about where he was living, Reuters adds. He replied: “Formerly the airport district at army headquarters but now Kobar prison.”

Police investigator Ahmed Ali Mohamed told the court that Mr Bashir admitted to receiving $25m (£21m) from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

He also said the 75-year-old former president got other money from Saudi Arabia.

Reuters quotes Mr Bashir’s lawyer Ahmed Ibrahim as saying that “there is no information or evidence with regards to the accusations of illicit gains aimed at Bashir”.

What are the corruption charges?

In April, Sudan’s military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said more than $113m (£93m) worth of cash in Sudanese pounds and foreign currency had been seized from Mr Bashir’s home.

The ousted leader had been due in court in July – but the trial was postponed for security reasons.

What other charges does Mr Bashir face in Sudan?

In May, Sudan’s public prosecutor charged Mr Bashir with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters.

The charges stem from an inquiry into the death of a doctor killed during protests that led to the end of Mr Bashir’s rule in April.

The doctor had been treating injured protesters in his home in Khartoum, when police fired tear gas into the building.

A witness told the BBC that the doctor had walked out with his hands in the air, told the police he was a doctor and was instantly shot.

What about the transition to democracy?

Mr Bashir’s trial will be seen as a test of whether the new authorities are able to deal with the alleged crimes of the previous regime.

On Saturday, Sudan’s ruling military council, which took over after Mr Bashir’s ousting, and a civilian opposition alliance signed a landmark power-sharing deal.

The agreement ushers in a new governing council, including both civilians and generals, to pave the way towards elections and civilian rule.

Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagolo, widely regarded as Sudan’s most powerful man, has pledged to abide by its terms.

The members of the new sovereign council were supposed to be sworn in on Monday, but the ceremony has been postponed after a request from pro-democracy activists, the Reuters news agency quotes a military spokesman as saying. BBC News
Former President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir appears in court for the first time at a Khartoum court to face corruption charges.