The presiding judge said Bashir, 75, who was deposed by the military in April following months of street protests against his three-decade rule, was being sent to the reform facility, rather than a prison, on account of his age.
He also ordered the confiscation of millions of euros and Sudanese pounds found in Bashir’s residence when he was toppled.
Bashir’s prosecution is a test of how fast and how far military and civilian authorities now sharing power in Sudan will act to overturn his legacy.
Ahead of Saturday’s verdict, hundreds of supporters of the Islamist ex-president gathered in streets near the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum.
Troops and military vehicles were deployed in the area, blocking access to the palace and the Defence Ministry, and there was a heavy security presence at the court.
Dressed in traditional white robes and a turban, Bashir watched silently from inside a metal defendant’s cage while the judge, Al-Sadiq Abdelrahman, read out the verdict on Saturday.
“The convict, Omar al-Bashir, is consigned to a social reform facility for a period of two years. The sums of foreign and national currency that were seized are confiscated,” Abdelrahman said.
Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir, Bashir’s lead defense lawyer, said he would appeal. “The judge made the ruling based on political motives, but despite that we still have confidence in the Sudanese judiciary,” Tahir told reporters.
Several other judicial cases have been launched in Sudan against Bashir. In May he was charged with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters, and this week he was summoned for questioning over his role in the 1989 military coup that brought him to power.
Based on Reuters
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