A court in Sudan
convicted former President Omar al-Bashir of money laundering and corruption on
Saturday, sentencing him to two years in a minimum security lockup.
Defense lawyer Abdul
Rahman Ebrahiem Khalefa, said“This trial does not relate to the law, nor to the
judiciary. This is a political trial. What was said could have been a pillar of
a discussion at any Sudanese university,”.
That’s the first
verdict in a series of legal proceedings against al-Bashir, who is also wanted
by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide
linked to the Darfur conflict in the 2000s.
The verdict comes a
year after Sudanese protesters erupted in revolt against al-Bashir’s
authoritarian rule.
During his three
decades in power, Sudan landed on the US list for sponsoring terrorism, and the
country’s economy was battered by years of mismanagement and American
sanctions.
Al-Bashir has been in
custody since April, when Sudan’s military ousted him after months of
nationwide protests.
Under Sudanese law,
al-Bashir, 75, will be sent to a state-run lockup for elderly people who are
convicted of crimes not punishable with death.
But he will remain in
jail amid an ongoing trial on separate charges regarding the killing of
protesters in the months prior to his ouster.
