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The trial of ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir and others in a 1989 coup heard arguments from the defense on Tuesday dismissing charges of illegal use of military force.
The latest hearing coincided with a mission to Khartoum by a team from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has sought for nearly a decade to try Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur.
It took place as Sudan celebrated the US decision to remove the country from Washington’s blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism.
The former president and 27 others are on trial in Khartoum on charges of plotting the 1989 Islamist-backed military coup that brought him to power.
“The next hearing will be held on November 3 to resume hearing the arguments of defense attorneys in response to the allegations,” said Judge Essam Ibrahim.
Defense attorneys at the last hearing refuted the allegations by Sudan’s attorney general, Tagelsir al-Hebr, against Bashir and the other defendants.
Hebr has charged them with multiple charges, including undermining constitutional order and using military force to commit a crime.
Most of the defense team withdrew from the previous hearing in protest at the alleged bias on the part of the attorney general.
On Tuesday, defense attorney Serageldin Hamed underlined what he called “the illegality and unconstitutionality of the prosecutor who oversees the presentation of charges.”
Bashir held power for 30 years until his overthrow on April 11, 2019 following unprecedented mass street demonstrations led by youth.
It is the first time in modern Arab history that the leader has been put on trial in one coup.
If convicted, Bashir and his co-defendants, including former senior officials, could face the death penalty.
Since his ouster, Bashir has been imprisoned in the Kober high-security prison in Khartoum and was found guilty of corruption last December.
He has also been indicted by the ICC for the Darfur conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms, accusing Khartoum of political and economic marginalization of its vast region.
The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people died and 2.5 million were displaced in the conflict in western Sudan.
Since Saturday, Sudanese officials have held talks with the visiting ICC team about options to try Bashir in Darfur, including his surrender or the formation of a hybrid court.
