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A Sudanese woman walks by the walls of Kobar prison where ousted president Omar al-Bashir is detained in Khartoum
A Sudanese woman walks by the walls of Kobar prison where ousted president Omar al-Bashir is detained in Khartoum Photograph: -/AFP/Getty Images
A Sudanese woman walks by the walls of Kobar prison where ousted president Omar al-Bashir is detained in Khartoum Photograph: -/AFP/Getty Images

Sudan: former president Omar al-Bashir moved to prison

This article is more than 4 years old

Ousted leader is being held in solitary confinement in the notorious Kobar prison

Deposed ex-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been moved to Khartoum’s grim high-security Kobar prison from the presidential residence, family sources said on Wednesday, as military rulers announced steps to crack down on corruption.

Bashir, 75, had been detained under heavy guard in the presidential residence inside the compound that also houses the defence ministry, before being transferred to Kobar prison late on Tuesday, the sources said. He was being held in solitary confinement at Kobar, a prison source said.

Kobar, just north of central Khartoum adjacent to the Blue Nile river, housed thousands of political prisoners under Bashir’s nearly 30-year rule and is Sudan’s most notorious jail.

Sudan’s military ousted Bashir after weeks of mass protests that climaxed in a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry compound. Protest leaders say demonstrations will not cease until the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) hands power to a civilian-led authority ahead of elections.

The Sudanese Professionals’ Association (SPA), leading the revolt, has called for sweeping change to end a violent crackdown on dissent, purge corruption and cronyism and ease an economic crisis that worsened during Bashir’s last years in power.

Representatives of the Sudan protesters and main opposition groups known as Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change submitted a two-page document to the TMC calling for the establishment of a civilian-led ruling council with military representation, a member of the team told Reuters.

The document, which was seen by Reuters, also calls for setting up a government comprising no more than 17 ministers and a transitional parliament consisting of 120 members to supervise the work of the government.

The TMC had said it was ready to meet some of the protesters demands, including fighting corruption, but indicated it would not hand over power to them.

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