SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – Omar al-Bashir sentenced to two years for corruption

14/12/2019: Multiple sources – Omar al-Bashir sentenced to two years for corruption

• BBC

• CNN, by Yassir Abdulla and Raja Razek

• Sky News

• Financial Times, by David Pilling

• AP, Nadir Ahmed and Samy Magdy

• Reuters, by Khalid Abdelaziz

Sudan's ex-president Omar al-Bashir has been sentenced to two years in a social reform facility for corruption and illegitimate possession of foreign currency.

The judge told the court that, under Sudanese law, people over the age of 70 cannot serve jail terms. Bashir is 75.

Bashir also faces charges related to the 1989 coup that brought him to power, genocide, and the killing of protesters before his ousting in April. If convicted for the latter, he could face the death penalty.

During the sentencing, his supporters started chanting that the trial was "political" and were ordered to leave. One of al-Bashir’s lawyers, Ahmed Ibrahim, said they would appeal against the verdict.