Sudan: Public Prosecutor questions Bashir over 1989 coup

Sudan’s Public Prosecutor summoned ousted President Omar Al-Bashir today to answer questions about the 1989 military coup, Anadolu has reported.

“Al Bashir has been questioned,” explained a spokesman for the board of indictment against the coup perpetrators, Moez Hadra. “[The investigations] about the 1989 coup are almost completed… We expect the indictment to be raised to the court in the coming days.”

On Sunday, the Public Prosecutor also summoned Bakri Hassan Saleh, one of the most prominent military commanders close to Al-Bashir, for questioning over the same issue. Bakri was alongside Al-Bashir throughout his rule, starting from 1989. He occupied several positions, including first deputy president. He was also prime minister before he was removed from the position in 2018.

READ: Sudan says Bashir’s handover to ICC depends on peace negotiations results

On 30 June 1989, Al-Bashir led a coup against the government of Al-Sadeq Al-Mehdi. He headed a Leadership Council of the Revolution of National Salvation and then became President of Sudan in the same year.

Last May, Sudanese lawyers filed a complaint which asked the Public Prosecution Service to investigate the 1989 coup. This was agreed upon.

Omar Al-Bashir has been held in Coper Prison in the north of Khartoum since he was ousted on 11 April last year.