Speaking during a trial where he is accused of orchestrating a military coup, former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir said on Tuesday that he accepted full responsibility for the occasions in 1989 that propelled him to power.
Since army officers overthrew Bashir in a revolt in April 2019, ending his three-decade dictatorship, he has been imprisoned.
The prosecution surrounding the June 30, 1989 coup that deposed the previous elected government led by Sadiq al-Mahdi has been dismissed by his legal team as being entirely political.
“I assume all responsibility for what took place on June 30,” Bashir told a court in Khartoum. “I’ve been following the prosecution’s attempts to confirm this charge by presenting videos and witnesses, and I listen and enjoy it,” he said before pausing to smile.
Bashir added that civilians appointed to official positions after he and other military overthrew the government in 1989 were brought in to assist Sudan at a trying time but were not involved in the coup’s planning or execution.
“Our concern was not power but rather we needed capabilities and we opened dialogue with all the political forces,” he said, according to comments reported by state news agency SUNA.
The experiment started in 2020 and is anticipated to last at least a few more months. Senior officials who are defendants and were employed by Bashir have disputed guilt. Bashir might receive the death penalty if found guilty.
In a subsequent trial in December 2019, Bashir was found guilty of illegal financial activity and given a two-year prison term. He is also being prosecuted for the murder of demonstrators.
In October 2021, military commanders carried out Sudan’s most recent coup, terminating a power-sharing arrangement reached following Bashir’s removal. In order to start a new transition, the military and political parties inked an outline agreement this month.