Ruling against opposition figure upheld

The Cassation Court has upheld sentence against Ibrahim Sharif, the former Secretary-General of dissolved opposition party Wa’ad for three years after he was found guilty of defaming Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir.

However, it ordered for the sentence to be postponed for three years, pending the accused committing a similar offence. The defendant is said to have published insulting tweets against Al Bashir in the wake of the protests, which broke out in the country.

Mr Sharif was earlier sentenced to one year behind bars after he was tried in connection with a speech he gave in July 2015 during an event, where he encouraged the public to overthrow the regime.

He was only released from jail in June of the same year after serving just over four years of a five-year prison sentence. He was one of 21 men convicted in 2011 in connection with a plot to overthrow the government with help from abroad.

Some were jailed for life, but he was found not guilty of the more serious charges and was sentenced to five years for espionage in connection with the topple attempt.