Al-Bashir and senior leaders of the former regime transferred to Cooper Prison in Khartoum April 18, 2019 at 12:00 am | Published in: Africa , News , Sudan April 18, 2019 at 12:00 am Sudanese and international media Quote: d sources, described as well informed, as saying that the ousted President Omar Al-Bashir was transferred on Wednesday to Cooper Prison, where several senior leaders of the former regime are detained.

The sources said that Abdullah Al-Bashir, brother of the deposed president, Jamal Al-Wali, a leader of the Congress party, and some leaders of the “Shadow Brigades” were detained in Cooper Prison. Also, others are being transferred there, while Al-Bashir is also expected to arrive at the prison.

In the meantime, Akhir Lahza newspaper published on its front page a headline which said that “Al-Bashir in Cooper Prison,” while Al-Tayyar newspaper revealed that a large group of leaders of the National Congress party were arrested yesterday then transferred to Cooper Prison, which is reserved for politicians.

According to the newspaper, the most prominent of these detainees are “Abdul Rahman Al-Khader, former Governor of Khartoum, famous businessman Jamal Al-Wali, the governor of Khartoum and former defence minister, Lieutenant General Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein.”

Two officials confirmed in a statement to CNN , today that Al-Bashir was moved to Cooper Prison under tight security, accompanied with two officials who were present to witness this transfer.

The two officials said that, in his detention, Al-Bashir was isolated from other figures of his regime who were also arrested after his overthrow.

Officials at the Transitional Military Council (TMC) said that the deposed president was “detained in a safe place” without providing further details.

The news came at a time when the Sudanese National Congress Party (NCP) has called on the Transitional Military Council to “immediately” release a number of its leaders and members and warned against delaying the peaceful transfer of power because of the steps taken by the Council.

This came in a previous statement in which the party warned of steps taken by the Military Council, pointing out that it would contribute to delaying the peaceful and smooth transition of power.

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On 11 April, the Sudanese Army ousted Al-Bashir from the presidency after three decades of his rule under continued widespread protests since the end of last year.

Sudan’s Transitional Military Council stressed on Tuesday that the extradition of Al-Bashir to the “Criminal Court” will be decided by the civil government, which will rule the country later, as it is not its responsibility.

Al-Bashir is subject to two international arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court in 2009 and 2010 on charges of “genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes” committed in the Darfur region between 2003 and 2008.

Cooper Prison

The name of “Cooper Prison” has been recurrent recently in a remarkable manner in Khartoum, since the overthrow of President Al-Bashir. What is the history of this prison?

The Cooper Prison was built in Sudan in 1903 on a land area of ​​about 5,000 square meters. It extends from Al Waha neighbourhood in the South, and bordered by Khartoum industrial zone in the North, Bashir Mohammed Saeed Street in the West to Al-Shifa Street, and Kafouri neighbourhood, in the East.

The prison building was designed in a way similar to the prisons of Britain, specifically Birmingham Prison, and was named in reference to a British official named “Cooper” who took over its management during the British colonisation of Sudan.

Cooper Prison includes 14 sections, including the death row, a section for prisoners with criminal records, one for those with long and short sentences, other articles for criminals awaiting trial, and a special treatment section for senior officials convicted by the judiciary of prison sentences. This section has been removed in the modern era.

The political section has been the most famous because its prisoners and detainees’ fate was linked to the change of rule in Sudan.

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