Sudan: former PM charged with crimes punishable by death 

Sudan’s Public Prosecution Office, affiliated with Army Commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, has charged former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok with crimes that are punishable by death. The army rose up against Hamdok in 2021, who is calling for negotiations to end the war in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.

Sudanese state television reported that the Public Prosecution had filed a case against the former prime minister of the civilian government and fifteen others, including party leaders and journalists. They are accused of “incitement to war against the state, undermining the constitutional order, and crimes against humanity.”

Hamdok was the first civilian prime minister in Sudan after the military-Islamic ruler Omar Al-Bashir was overthrown in 2019. He has lived outside Sudan since the coup led by Al-Burhan against his government in cooperation with his former deputy and current enemy, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the RSF. In fact, all of those charged live outside Sudan.

The former government head has been communicating with Sudanese and regional parties in order to stop the war in Sudan through negotiations. As part of these efforts, Hamdok reached an agreement with Dagalo to begin negotiations to end the fighting that broke out in April 2023 which has killed tens of thousands of people, forced millions to flee, and pushed the poverty-stricken country to the brink of famine.

This step by the Burhan camp against Hamdok comes after the US special envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, announced at the end of last month his hope for the two sides of the conflict in Sudan to resume dialogue after Ramadan and work to prevent the outbreak of a broader regional war, despite the failure of previous negotiations. The previous talks hosted by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah resulted only in general promises to stop the conflict in Sudan, as the country was experiencing a difficult stage of transitioning to a democracy.

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