Sudan's Bashir and allies on trial for leading 1989 coup

State TV broadcast the judge opening the trial without showing footage of Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum since he was toppled in April last year following mass protests against his 30-year rule. Other defendants include former allies of Bashir such as military officers and Islamists, judicial sources said before the start of the trial.

Sudan started on Tuesday a new trial against ousted President Omar al-Bashir and some of his former allies on charges of leading a military coup that brought the autocrat to power in 1989. State TV broadcast the judge opening the trial without showing footage of Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum since he was toppled in April last year following mass protests against his 30-year rule.

Other defendants include former allies of Bashir such as military officers and Islamists, judicial sources said before the start of the trial. A Sudanese court handed Bashir a two-year sentence in December on corruption charges. He also faces trials and investigations over the killing of protesters.