Former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir
Several regional countries have offered to host former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir and provide him with medical treatment if he is permitted to leave Sudan, a member of his defence team has said.
Lawyer Mohamed Hassan al-Amin said no specific destination had yet been selected, but several states had indicated they were prepared to receive Bashir and allow him to remain there while undergoing treatment.
“There are several countries that have expressed their readiness to host him and treat him,” al-Amin told Radio Dabanga, adding that the final destination would depend on circumstances and Bashir’s own choice.
The claim marks a new development in efforts by Bashir’s family and lawyers to secure treatment abroad as his health deteriorates.
Al-Amin said Bashir is currently receiving treatment at Alia Military Hospital in Omdurman after returning from Merowe, where he had previously been receiving medical care. He said doctors had recommended treatment outside Sudan after new symptoms emerged that had not yet been fully diagnosed.
Bashir’s legal team has previously claimed that authorities had given preliminary indications that he could be allowed to travel. His family, however, said this week that it had received no official notification approving his departure, despite repeated appeals to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for his release on medical grounds.
Al-Amin also called for an end to Bashir’s detention, arguing that the former president had spent more than seven years in custody and now required urgent specialist treatment.
His lawyers maintain that proceedings related to the June 30, 1989 coup have effectively been suspended. Lawyers representing the prosecution have disputed that claim, saying cases against Bashir remain active and warning that allowing him to leave the country could obstruct efforts to bring him to trial.
Bashir, who ruled Sudan for nearly 30 years before being ousted in April 2019, is also wanted by the International Criminal Court over allegations of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.
Neither al-Amin nor Bashir’s family has identified the countries that have allegedly offered to receive him.
