The trial of ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was adjourned on Tuesday after one of his aides contracted the coronavirus.

 

 

Bashir and others are standing trial for plotting the 1989 coup. The session has been rescheduled to March 9.

 

 

In a statement obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday, spokesman for the prosecution, lawyer Moaz Hadra, said the weekly scheduled session was postponed after the court received a medical report from the Royal Care Hospital in Khartoum stating that Nafie Ali Nafie had tested positive for coronavirus.

 

 

The judge also decided to limit the number of people at the court hearings as a health precaution.

 

 

Bashir and 27 of his collaborators are on trial for participating and plotting the June 30, 1989 coup, which brought him to power, against the democratically elected government of premier Sadek al-Mahdi. They could all face the death penalty if convicted.

 

 

The man dubbed the true brain behind the military overthrow, Hassan Turabi of the National Islamic Front, died in 2016.

 

 

In May 2019, the Public Prosecution filed a suit against the group, which organized and participated in the coup, and charged them in accordance with the Sudanese criminal law prevailing at the time.

 

 

It accused them all of undermining the existing constitutional order and democracy in the country.

 

 

The defense demanded that the charges be dropped and that the case be dismissed. However, the court rejected the request and considered the coup an “ongoing” crime.