Ex-president sentenced to two years for corruption

KHARTOUM: A Sudanese court on Saturday convicted former president Omar al-Bashir of corruption and illicit possession of foreign currency and sentenced him to two years of detention in a reform facility.

Sudan’s military ousted Bashir in April following months of street protests against his three-decade rule.

Sudan has embarked on a transition to civilian rule following a power-sharing deal signed on August 17 by protest leaders and the generals who ousted Bashir.

Protesters had called for Bashir to face justice not just over corruption but for his role in the country’s deadly conflicts.

The former Sudanese leader is also wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague over his role in mass killings in the western region of Darfur.

“Now is the time for the people of Sudan to choose law over impunity and ensure that the ICC suspects in the Darfur situation finally face justice in a court of law,” ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the UN Security Council in June.

Sudan’s prosecutor general has said Bashir would also be charged over the killings during the anti-regime protests which eventually led to his ouster.