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Prominent Sudanese opposition leader Turabi dies at 84

Saturday, 05 March 2016 5:10 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 05 March 2016 6:17 PM ]

Late Sudanese opposition leader Hassan Abd Allah al-Turabi

Sudan’s main opposition leader Hassan Abd Allah al-Turabi has reportedly lost his life after sinking into a coma and being transferred to a medical center in the capital, Khartoum, in critical condition earlier in the day.

Turabi, the late Secretary General of the Popular Congress Party, fell unconscious in his office on Saturday morning after apparently suffering a heart attack. He was shifted to the Royal Care International Hospital, where doctors and medical staff sought to save his life, Sky News Arabia television network reported.

His condition however did not improve in hospital, and he was pronounced dead in the evening. He was 84 years old.

Turabi was elected speaker of parliament in 1996 and was close to long-serving President Omar al-Bashir.

The influential Sudanese political figure formed the opposition Popular Congress Party in 1999 after breaking ranks with Bashir and his ruling National Congress Party following a bitter power struggle.

He was jailed several times over a career spanning four decades. His most recent imprisonment was on January 17, 2011, for nine days in the wake of popular uprisings against despotic regimes across North Africa.

Turabi was the only Sudanese politician to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for Bashir's arrest on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur.

He was fluent in English, French and German besides his mother tongue Arabic, and his foreign language skills helped him reach out to international media outlets, and fiercely criticize Bashir's government.

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