عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Sudan’s Court of Appeal Refuses to Drop Case against Bashir

In this Sept. 15, 2020 file photo, Sudan's ousted President Omar al-Bashir sits at the defendant's cage during his trial a courthouse in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. (AP)
In this Sept. 15, 2020 file photo, Sudan's ousted President Omar al-Bashir sits at the defendant's cage during his trial a courthouse in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. (AP)
TT
TT

Sudan’s Court of Appeal Refuses to Drop Case against Bashir

In this Sept. 15, 2020 file photo, Sudan's ousted President Omar al-Bashir sits at the defendant's cage during his trial a courthouse in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. (AP)
In this Sept. 15, 2020 file photo, Sudan's ousted President Omar al-Bashir sits at the defendant's cage during his trial a courthouse in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. (AP)

Sudan’s Court of Appeal rejected the appeal filed by the advocates of ousted President Omar al-Bashir and his partners over their involvement in the June 30, 1989 coup.

The court upheld the verdict against them, setting a new date to continue the trial, which was suspended on Jan. 4.

Bashir and 27 of his Islamist partners, who organized the 1989 military coup against the democratically elected government of prime minister Sadek al-Mahdi, could face the death penalty if convicted.

His partners include former vice presidents Ali Osman Taha and Bakri Hassan Saleh, as well as former ministers and governors.

In a press release obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, official spokesperson of the prosecution lawyer Moaz Hadra said the Khartoum Court of Appeal rejected the appeal submitted by the defense.

The defense had appealed the ruling citing the statute of limitations.

According to presiding Judge Essam al-Din Mohammad Ibrahim the act committed by Bashir and his partners is a continuous crime running from the 1989 coup until the overthrow of the regime on April 11, 2019.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Italy Says Suspending EU Sanctions on Syria Could Help Encourage Transition

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (SANA via AP)
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (SANA via AP)
TT
TT

Italy Says Suspending EU Sanctions on Syria Could Help Encourage Transition

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (SANA via AP)
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (SANA via AP)

Italy's foreign minister says a moratorium on European Union sanctions on Syria could help encourage the country's transition after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad by opposition groups.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani visited Syria on Friday and expressed Italy’s keen interest in helping Syria recover from civil war, rebuild its broken economy and help stabilize the region.

Tajani, who met with Syria’s new de facto leaders, including Ahmed al-Sharaa, said a stable Syria and Lebanon was of strategic and commercial importance to Europe.

He said the fall of Assad's government, as well as the Lebanon parliament's vote on Thursday to elect army commander Joseph Aoun as president, were signs of optimism for Middle East stability.

He said Italy wanted to play a leading role in Syria’s recovery and serve as a bridge between Damascus and the EU, particularly given Italy’s commercial and strategic interests in the Mediterranean.

“The Mediterranean can no longer just be a sea of death, a cemetery of migrants but a sea of commerce a sea of development,” he said.

Tajani later traveled to Lebanon and met with Aoun. Italy has long played a sizeable role in the UN peacekeeping force for Lebanon, UNIFIL.

On the eve of his visit, Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and officials from Britain, France and Germany as well as the EU foreign policy chief. He said that meeting of the so-called Quintet on Syria was key to begin the discussion about a change to the EU sanctions.

“The sanctions were against the Assad regime. If the situation has changed, we have to change our choices,” Tajani said.