Bashir, 76, could face the death penalty if convicted over the 1989 Islamist-backed overthrow of the democratically elected government of prime minister Sadek al-Mahdi. Along with Bashir, 27 co-accused were in the dock at the Khartoum court house, which was heavily guarded by police outside with AK-47 assault rifles, batons and tear gas grenades. The Khartoum trial comes as Sudan's post-revolution transitional government has launched a series of reforms in hopes of fully rejoining the international community. In the 1990s, under his mentor Turabi, Bashir had steered Sudan -- a country with a plethora of tribes and then divided between the mainly Muslim north and Christian or animist south -- towards radical Islam. The trial comes as Sudan's joint civilian-military transitional government is introducing a host of reforms and has relaunched peace talks with rebel groups.

Source: Daily Nation July 21, 2020 10:41 UTC