Africa

A Sudanese court orders the release of those involved in a coup attempt in 2019 to reinstate Al Bashir

A Sudanese court orders the release of those involved in a coup attempt in 2019 to reinstate Al Bashir

July 8. (EUROPA PRESS) –

A Sudanese appeals court has ordered the release of soldiers accused of the attempted coup in July 2019, just a few months after the overthrow in April of that year of the country’s then president, Omar Hassan al Bashir.

Among those affected is the former chief of staff of the Sudanese Army Hashim Abdelmutalib, arrested on July 11, 2019 along with several officers for allegedly planning a coup to try to restore the Al Bashir regime.

Abdalá Hamid, one of the defense lawyers, has indicated that “the military court of appeals has accepted the appeal presented by the defense and has reduced their sentence to the time they have been in prison,” according to the Sudanese news portal Sudan Tribune.

In the case of Abdelmutalib, the sentence was reduced to leave two and a half years pending, although the head of the Army and president of the Sovereign Transitional Council, Abdelfatá al-Burhan, has granted him a pardon. Hamid also stressed that “the court has decided to expel them from the Army.”

Abdelmutalib was appointed chief of the Sudanese Army General Staff in April 2019, days after the overthrow of Al Bashir after months of popular mobilizations against his regime. He had previously held the position of ‘number two’ of the General Staff.

The military junta established after Al Bashir’s departure from power assured in July 2019 that it had dismantled an attempted coup and arrested several officers, before stressing that “the objective of the attempted coup was to abort the glorious revolution of the people and the return of the old system of the National Congress Party”.

The Sudanese military junta pointed to the dismantling of several alleged plans to carry out coups in the country, in the midst of talks with the opposition to set the “road map” for the transition.

The talks led to the creation of transitional authorities headed by civilians and the military, although the government, led by Abdullah Hamdok, was overthrown in October 2021 in a coup led by Al Burhan himself.

Despite the fact that international pressure forced an agreement to reinstate Hamdok in office in November, the prime minister resigned in January in protest against the repression of the mobilizations and after the military authorities expelled various civil groups from the Executive arguing that they acted against the interests of the State.

Al Burhan announced on Monday that the military is withdrawing from internationally mediated talks to resolve the crisis and urged political forces to push for “immediate serious dialogue” to “restore the unity of the Sudanese people.” Once this agreement is reached, the Sovereign Transitional Council will be dissolved and a Security and Defense Council will be formed to hold elections.

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