Deposed Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir returned to the forefront of events after his family announced that he had been transferred to the “Alia” Specialized Hospital in the city of Omdurman from the city of Meroe in northern Sudan, and demanded that he be transferred outside the country to receive more specialized health care.
The BBC learned from family sources that Al-Bashir was transferred to Alia Military Hospital about two weeks ago. This occurred after he suffered a health setback at Marawi Hospital, where he was receiving treatment.
The sources added that Al-Bashir is currently receiving "care in one of the wards of the military hospital in Omdurman, where a team of doctors and consultants is supervising and reviewing his health condition around the clock."
With Al-Bashir staying in the hospital for nearly two weeks, calls came from his defense staff, his family, and media figures affiliated with his regime for the need to transfer him abroad to receive better health care.
In this context, Muhammad al-Hassan al-Amin, the deposed president’s lawyer, revealed that they had submitted a request to the Sudanese authorities to allow al-Bashir to leave the country. In order to conduct further medical examinations,
He told the BBC that the request came due to Al-Bashir's need for more specialized medical care in light of the lack of necessary medical equipment and devices inside Sudan, noting that the authorities have not responded to the request until this moment.
Al-Amin explained that there is no legal reason to prevent Al-Bashir from traveling abroad, especially since he is over eighty years old. He appealed to the responsible authorities to allow him to travel to one of the countries that expressed their agreement to host him, without revealing the identity of this country. But informed sources told the BBC that it is likely that Al-Bashir will be transferred to either Qatar or Türkiye.
Later, Al-Bashir's family issued a statement confirming that his health condition required his transfer outside Sudan without delay, directing an urgent appeal to the President of the Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, to intervene.
Al-Bashir, 85 years old, ruled Sudan for more than three decades with an iron fist, until his regime was overthrown following a popular revolution in 2019.
He was arrested during the transitional government period that followed the fall of his rule, where he was put on trial and convicted in financial corruption cases.
Al-Bashir, accompanied by a number of his aides, is also subject to investigations and trial on charges of undermining the constitutional order and overthrowing the government after his removal, charges that carry a penalty of death according to Sudanese criminal law.
Before that, the International Criminal Court accused him and a number of his ministers of committing war crimes and genocide in the Darfur region, and issued an arrest warrant against him, calling on the Sudanese government and the court’s member states to help arrest and hand him over to it.
In this regard, Al-Moez Hadra, one of the accused lawyers in the case of undermining the constitutional order, believes that the Sudanese Criminal Procedure Code does not allow any accused or convicted person to travel outside the country.
He said in statements to the BBC that the judiciary is the only body that has the right to determine the whereabouts of the accused, and not any political, military or other body.
Hazrat al-Bashir described the attempts to transfer Al-Bashir abroad as “an attempt to smuggle an accused,” explaining that “the correct procedure in the event that any accused is exposed to the disease is for him to be treated inside a prison hospital or in a government hospital under the direct control and supervision of the judicial system. Any attempt to send him outside the country is considered smuggling and a clear violation of the law, and what is happening now is an actual contribution to his impunity.”
In contrast, legal and constitutional expert Nabil Adeeb believes that Sudanese law guarantees Al-Bashir the right to receive treatment anywhere given his age.
He told the BBC that Sudanese law “gives any person over the age of 74 the right to receive treatment in the place of his choice, even if he faces legal charges.”
He continued, saying that the matter is completely clear in the case of Al-Bashir. “He does not face any conviction yet and he is over 80 years old, so he has the right to travel outside the country for the purpose of receiving treatment.”
Since Al-Bashir and his aides were released from prison following the deterioration of the security situation in the country due to the outbreak of war, their whereabouts and movements have remained the subject of widespread controversy in political circles.
Al-Bashir, his deputy Bakri Hassan Saleh, and his Minister of Defense, Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hussein, were present in Alia Military Hospital at the moment of the outbreak of armed confrontations, before they were later transferred to the Marawi region in the northern state to be detained there.
On the other hand, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs during the Bashir era and one of those wanted by the International Criminal Court, Ahmed Haroun, appeared in several regions, including the city of Kassala in the east of the country and the city of Atbara in the north.
