Sudan’s former ruling National Congress Party has demanded the immediate release of ousted president Omar al-Bashir and called on army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to allow him to travel abroad for medical treatment.
In a statement signed by acting party leader Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed, the NCP said Bashir had remained in detention since his removal from power in April 2019 despite medical recommendations that he receive treatment outside Sudan.
The party held Burhan, who heads the army-aligned Sovereign Council, responsible for any health consequences resulting from Bashir’s continued detention or restrictions preventing him from travelling.
The statement also called for restrictions on former defence minister Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein and former military officer Youssef Abdel Fattah to be lifted, saying they should be allowed to seek medical treatment abroad.
The demand marks a further escalation in pressure from figures associated with Bashir’s former government over the 82-year-old’s medical condition.
Bashir was recently transferred from a hospital in the northern city of Merowe to Aliaa Specialist Military Hospital in Omdurman after suffering health problems.
His lawyer, Mohamed El-Hassan El-Amin, said the former president requires medical examinations and cardiac imaging that are not currently available in Sudan and has requested permission to travel abroad for treatment.
El-Amin said no particular country had been selected and that the defence team was seeking permission for Bashir to travel wherever the necessary medical care was available.
Bashir’s family has also said his condition has deteriorated and that treatment outside Sudan has become urgent. Earlier reports that military authorities had granted preliminary approval for the trip were subsequently challenged by the family, which said it had received no formal authorisation.
Bashir ruled Sudan for nearly three decades after taking power in a 1989 military coup. He was removed in April 2019 following months of mass protests.
He remains wanted by the International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants in 2009 and 2010 accusing him of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity over atrocities committed during the conflict in Darfur.
