Sudan’s former president exempted from prison sentence for being old despite conviction for corruption

Sudan’s former president exempted from prison sentence for being old despite conviction for corruption

A Sudanese criminal court on Saturday convicted former President Omar al-Bashir of corruption, and possession of foreign currency and illicit wealth, sentencing him to two-year detention in a reform institution instead of in prison for exceeding age of 70.

“For arrangements relating to those who surpass the age of 70, and accordingly, I rule two years of detention for al-Bashir at an administrative reform institution,” said Al-Sadiq Abdelrahman, a court judge who delivered the verdict.

The judge also ordered confiscation of al-Bashir’s foreign currency money for his crime.

It is worth noting that Abdelrahman was forced to order out a number of al-Bashir’s supporters who were shouting against the verdict in the court.

The Sudanese army ousted al-Bashir from power on April 11 amid protests that erupted in December last year.

Following his ouster, the General Prosecution in Sudan pressed charges against al-Bashir in May over suspected corruption after about 113 million U.S. dollars were found at his residence.

In addition, al-Bashir faces the risk of extradition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) which accuses him of committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the region of Darfur where a civil war has lasted since 2003.

The joint ruling authority in Sudan is divided over the extradition of al-Bashir to the ICC. The military elements in the transitional government insist on trying al-Bashir internally while the Freedom and Change Alliance that led the protests supports the handover of al-Bashir to the ICC.