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Sudan Court Sentences Ex-dictator for Corruption

A court has found former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir guilty of money laundering and corruption and sentenced him to two years in a rehabilitation facility. It marks the first verdict in a series of legal cases against Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades prior to being deposed earlier this year. Millions of dollars in cash were found in his home after he was taken into custody in April, when the military overthrew him in a bid to placate anti-regime demonstrators that had taken to the streets nationwide to demand his ouster. Dozens of people were killed in clashes with security forces over the months-long period. While the army initially assumed power and announced plans to oversee the country for a two-year transitional period, ongoing protests, including a sit-in at military headquarters in the capital Khartoum, eventually led to an interim power-sharing agreement stipulating the eventual formation of a civilian-led government. The Sudanese military has thus far refused to extradite Bashir to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, which has issued arrest warrants against him on charges of war crimes connected to the Darfur conflict in the 2000s.