The family of Sudan’s ousted former president Omar al-Bashir said it has received no official approval for him to travel abroad for medical treatment, contradicting an earlier statement from his lawyer that military authorities had granted preliminary clearance.
In a statement on Wednesday, Bashir’s family said it had received no notification from any official authority authorising the 82-year-old former president to leave Sudan for treatment.
The statement came hours after Mohamed al-Hassan al-Amin, a member of Bashir’s defence team, said the army-aligned authorities had given initial approval for overseas medical care, although a final decision had not been implemented.
Bashir’s family said his condition had deteriorated and that medical assessments indicated he urgently required specialist treatment unavailable inside Sudan.
The family appealed directly to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the army-aligned Sovereign Council, to authorise Bashir’s travel and release on medical grounds.
Bashir was recently transferred to Alia Specialist Hospital in Omdurman after previously receiving medical care in the northern city of Merowe. His lawyers have said he requires examinations and procedures that cannot currently be carried out inside Sudan.
Al-Amin had earlier said Bashir was not in critical condition, despite requiring specialist medical attention.
The former president has remained in detention or military-supervised medical facilities since he was removed from power in April 2019 following months of mass protests.
Bashir is also wanted by the International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants against him in 2009 and 2010 over alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. The ICC continues to list him as at large.
His proposed destination for medical treatment has not been publicly disclosed.
