Attempted coup d'état thwarted in Sudan

As reported by the Al-Arabiyya TV channel, citing sources in the country's supreme leadership, the leaders of a group that tried to stage a coup d'etat were detained.

An investigation has been launched against the detained putschists.

As Interfax clarifies with reference to Western media reports, the coup participants tried to seize the building where the state media are located.

The political situation in Sudan escalated in April 2019, when a military coup took place in the country. As a result of the coup, the president of the country, Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years - from 1989 to 2019, was overthrown.

He lost his post as a result of months of massive popular protests. The UN believes that the victims of the conflict between rebels and government forces in Darfur from 2003 to 2006 became 300 thousand people. Another 2.5 million were forced to flee the country.

Following the ouster of al-Bashir on April 11, 2019, Sudan is ruled by a transitional civil-military administration: the ruling Military Council and the civilian opposition signed a power-sharing agreement.

In December 2019, a court in Sudan sentenced Omar al-Bashir to two years in prison on corruption and money laundering charges despite the best efforts of his 130-strong legal team. Lawyers argued that the money for which the case was initiated was given to Al-Bashir "as a person, not as a president".

Omar al-Bashir's lawyers sought to release the ex-president on bail, but the court refused them. 75-year-old Omar Al-Bashir was removed from power and imprisoned. To guide the country, the army created a transitional military council. At home, the ousted president found money in various currencies worth more than $ 130 million.

According to the prosecutor in court, Al-Bashir admitted to receiving from Saudi Arabia an amount of about $ 90 million. The prosecutor said that the money found was part of a $ 25 million sum sent to the ex-president by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, for his personal needs. Two more previous payments totaling $ 75 million came from the former King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah.

According to Al-Bashir, during the investigation, the funds received were spent, but he does not have documents confirming the spending, and he does not remember what exactly he spent the money received. At the trial, he said that he used the money for donations, and not for his own benefit. The maximum punishment for corruption crimes imputed to Al-Bashir in Sudan could have been 10 years, but the former president was given 2 years.

In August of this year, the transitional civil-military administration agreed to extradite the 77-year-old former president of the country, Omar Al-Bashir, and several other officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The former head of state is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes. during the 2003 conflict in Darfur. The case consists of 31 counts. Among them are rape, torture and murder. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir in 2009 and has been on a wanted list ever since. Initially, the military announced that they would not extradite the ex-president to an international court. However, after the coup d'état, they agreed.

For Russia, the political situation in Sudan is of great importance in connection with the deployment of a Russian naval base in the Red Sea on the territory of this country.