Bashir’s Wife Faces Charges of Illicit Enrichment

Bashir’s second wife, Widad Babiker. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Bashir’s second wife, Widad Babiker. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Bashir’s Wife Faces Charges of Illicit Enrichment

Bashir’s second wife, Widad Babiker. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Bashir’s second wife, Widad Babiker. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sudan’s Public Prosecution has completed investigations into several financial corruption cases and premeditated murder committed during the rule of ousted President Omar al-Bashir. Some lawsuits involve Bashir’s second wife, Widad Babiker, and other leaders who served his regime.

Sudan’s attorney general, Mubarak Mahmoud, has received from the Unlawful and Suspicious Enrichment prosecution the results of investigations led into four cases against prominent figures in the former regime, announced the Public Prosecution in a statement on Wednesday.

Other than Babiker, the cases involve the former governor of Khartoum, the former minister of urban planning, and the ex-official charged with the commission for distributing state revenues.

For Babiker, she faces charges of transgressing and unlawfully owning residential lands and real estate. Babiker has been under house arrest since her release from custody due to health reasons.

In other news, the attorney general visited the new Khartoum prosecution headquarters for empowerment removal and fund recovery and the prosecution headquarters of information crimes and digital investigations.

Mubarak Mahmoud, while inspecting the facilities, reviewed obstacles faced by authorities.

The head of the empowerment removal and funds recovery prosecution, Al-Amthal Abdelfattah, explained that the visit confirms the attorney general’s interest in the progress of work in all prosecutions.

Abdelfattah confirmed that his department, despite being new, is conducting investigations into a large number of lawsuits and that it has recently referred four cases involving suspects who are accused of activities and actions that undermine the constitution.



Stampede Kills Four People, Injures 16 in Umayyad Mosque in Damascus

A crowd gathers outside the Umayyad Mosque as they await updates following a stampede that occurred during Friday prayers in Damascus, Syria, Friday Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
A crowd gathers outside the Umayyad Mosque as they await updates following a stampede that occurred during Friday prayers in Damascus, Syria, Friday Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
TT

Stampede Kills Four People, Injures 16 in Umayyad Mosque in Damascus

A crowd gathers outside the Umayyad Mosque as they await updates following a stampede that occurred during Friday prayers in Damascus, Syria, Friday Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
A crowd gathers outside the Umayyad Mosque as they await updates following a stampede that occurred during Friday prayers in Damascus, Syria, Friday Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)

Four people were killed and 16 injured in a stampede in the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on Friday, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) said.

Five children suffered fractures, severe bruises and fainting, the civil defense said in a statement.

Authorities were trying to determine the causes of the incident and will hold those responsible accountable, Damascus Governor Maher Marwan told SANA.

"We are working to take urgent measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in public places in the future," SANA quoted him as saying.

Syria's new rulers seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family's decades-long rule.