Sudan Trial Defense Rejects Case Against Ousted Bashir

Sudan's toppled president Omar al-Bashir waves to the crowd during an April 2012 visit to the Northern Kordofan town of El-Obeid to address newly-trained paramilitary troops | AFP
Sudan's toppled president Omar al-Bashir waves to the crowd during an April 2012 visit to the Northern Kordofan town of El-Obeid to address newly-trained paramilitary troops | AFP
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Sudan Trial Defense Rejects Case Against Ousted Bashir

Sudan's toppled president Omar al-Bashir waves to the crowd during an April 2012 visit to the Northern Kordofan town of El-Obeid to address newly-trained paramilitary troops | AFP
Sudan's toppled president Omar al-Bashir waves to the crowd during an April 2012 visit to the Northern Kordofan town of El-Obeid to address newly-trained paramilitary troops | AFP

The trial of Sudan's ousted president Omar al-Bashir and others over a 1989 coup heard defense arguments Tuesday dismissing charges of illegal use of military force.

The latest hearing coincided with a mission to Khartoum by a team from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has sought for almost a decade to try Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

It was held as Sudan celebrated a US decision to remove the country from Washington's blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism.

The ex-president and 27 others are being tried in Khartoum accused of plotting the 1989 Islamist-backed military coup that brought him to power.

"The next hearing will be held on November 3 to resume listening to defense lawyers' arguments responding to the accusations," said judge Essam Ibrahim.

Defense lawyers in the latest hearing refuted accusations by Sudan's prosecutor general Tagelsir al-Hebr against Bashir and the other defendants.

Hebr has accused them of multiple charges including undermining constitutional order and using military force to commit a crime.

Most of the defense team walked out of the previous hearing in protest at alleged bias on the part of the prosecutor general.

On Tuesday, defense lawyer Serageldin Hamed stressed what he termed "the illegality and unconstitutionality of the public prosecutor overseeing the filing of charges".

Bashir held power for 30 years until his overthrow on April 11, 2019, following unprecedented mass youth-led street demonstrations.

It is the first time in modern Arab history that the leader of a coup has been put on trial.

If convicted, Bashir and his co-accused -- including former top officials -- could face the death penalty.

Since his ouster, Bashir has been jailed in Khartoum's high-security Kober prison and was found guilty last December of corruption.

He has also indicted by the ICC over the Darfur conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms, accusing Khartoum of political and economic marginalization of their vast region.

The United Nations estimates 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in the conflict in western Sudan.

Sudanese officials have since Saturday held talks with the visiting ICC team on options for trying Bashir over Darfur, including his handover or the formation of a hybrid court.



Türkiye's Erdogan Discusses Syria Situation with Putin by Phone, Ankara Says

 Syrian opposition fighters ride on motorcycles through abandoned Syrian army vehicles on a road in the outskirts of Hama, Syria, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024.(AP)
Syrian opposition fighters ride on motorcycles through abandoned Syrian army vehicles on a road in the outskirts of Hama, Syria, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024.(AP)
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Türkiye's Erdogan Discusses Syria Situation with Putin by Phone, Ankara Says

 Syrian opposition fighters ride on motorcycles through abandoned Syrian army vehicles on a road in the outskirts of Hama, Syria, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024.(AP)
Syrian opposition fighters ride on motorcycles through abandoned Syrian army vehicles on a road in the outskirts of Hama, Syria, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024.(AP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the renewed outbreak of conflict in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone, Erdogan's office said in a post on X on Tuesday.

Erdogan and Putin spoke as Syrian opposition forces advancing against government troops pushed close on Tuesday to the major city of Hama, fighters and a war monitor said, after their sudden capture of Aleppo last week rocked President Bashar al-Assad.

Erdogan told Putin that Türkiye supports Syria's territorial integrity and strives for a just and lasting solution in Syria, the statement said.

"President Erdogan highlighted the importance of making more room for diplomacy in the region, and underscored that the Syrian regime should engage in the political solution process," it said. Erdogan also said that Syria should not become a source of greater instability.

"Erdogan stated that Türkiye will continue to maintain its determined stance on the fight against the terrorist organization PKK and its extensions who are trying to take advantage of the recent developments in Syria," the statement said.