Sudan court postpones Bashir 'coup trial'

A Sudanese court today postponed until next week the trial of the defendants in the 1989 coup case due to the absence of a number of defendants and a defence lawyer.

Today’s session was held, according to the Sudan News Agency, in the Judicial and Legal Sciences Building in the capital, Khartoum, headed by Supreme Court Judge Hussein Al-Jak Al-Sheikh Ahmed, who was appointed to succeed Judge Ahmed Ali Ahmed, who stepped down from the case on 27 July.

The agency stated that the judge “postponed the hearing until next week due to the absence of a number of the accused and a defence lawyer, and for other procedural reasons to consider the possibility of the defendants attending and submitting audio and video documents after verifying the health status of the accused.”

The first session in the trial of ousted Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and officials in his government was held on 21 July 2020, they stand accused of orchestrating a coup and undermining the constitution. Charges they deny.

On 30 June 1989, Al-Bashir carried out a military coup against the government of Prime Minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi, and took the position of head of state. He was removed from power in 2019 after widespread popular protests led to the military ousting him.

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