Sudan’s Bashir Seeks Jail Move as Aide Gets Virus, Lawyer Says

(Bloomberg) --

Ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is asking to be moved from prison after one of his former enforcers detained in the same facility was infected with the coronavirus, his lawyer said.

Ahmed Haroun, an ex-Interior Ministry official who became leader of Bashir’s political party in the final days of his rule, has been transferred to the hospital in Khartoum’s Kober prison after testing positive for Covid-19, although his condition isn’t currently serious, according to the head of Bashir’s defense team, Mohamed al-Hassan al-Amin.

Bashir, who’s 76 and being held in the same jail, is also in danger from the virus and his legal representatives are appealing for his detention to be turned into a form of house arrest, al-Amin said by phone.

Haroun was sharing a cell with other former top officials from Bashir’s government, he said. Health Minister Akram Ali Altoum declined to comment on al-Amin’s claims.

Bashir, who was overthrown by the army a year ago amid mass protests against his three-decade rule, was jailed in December after being found guilty of illicitly possessing millions of dollars in foreign currencies. Both he and Haroun have been indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity committed in the western region of Darfur.

The North African country, which has reported 318 cases of the virus and 25 deaths, has been ravaged by years of economic mismanagement and international sanctions. Medical officials have warned of severe shortages of protective gear and equipment.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.