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Sudan's toppled president Omar al-Bashir charged with corruption

13-6-2019 < Blacklisted News 36 383 words
 

Sudan's public prosecutor has charged jailed former President Omar al-Bashir with corruption, according to state media.


Al-Bashir was overthrown and arrested in a coup by the military on April 11 after months of mass protests against his 30-year autocratic rule.


The SUNA news agency on Thursday quoted an official source as saying that al-Bashir "had been charged under foreign exchange possession materials, the heinous and suspicious wealth and emergency orders".


No other details were given.


Al-Bashir, who has not been seen in public since his arrest, had already been charged in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters.


Prosecutors had also ordered his interrogation on suspicion of money laundering and financing terrorism.


"This is a difficult move for the generals running Sudan, because this is the same individual they served for a significant period of time," Awol Allo, senior lecturer in law at Keele University, told Al Jazeera.


"They enabled his government, they fought on his behalf. And now, for the same political order to turn around and hold this individual accountable is the thing that makes this difficult," he added.


Talks with US envoy


Sudan was placed on a United States list of "sponsors of terrorism" under al-Bashir, a former general who is also under indictment by the International Court of Justice over alleged war crimes in the country's western Darfur region.


In a bid to reach a swift solution to the crisis, Washington, which has consistently pushed for civilian-led rule following al-Bashir's overthrow, on Wednesday appointed veteran diplomat Donald Booth as special envoy to Sudan.

Booth was due to hold talks with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the ruling military council, to help craft a "peaceful solution" to the crisis that has rocked the northeast African country, Washington said.


On Thursday, the US delegation was also expected to meet diplomats of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in Khartoum.


Experts say the three regional Arab nations appear to back the generals even as Western countries push for a civilian-led administration in Sudan.


Days after al-Bashir's overthrow, Saudi Arabia and the UAE offered a three-billion-dollar aid package to Khartoum, including a $500m cash injection into the central bank to help support the Sudanese pound which has plunged since last year against the US dollar.


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