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CANBERRA - A seriously ill Brisbane man facing the death penalty in Sudan has been released on bail after diplomatic intervention from Australia.
George Forbes, 46, was last week convicted of killing Ukrainian flight engineer Mykola Serebrenikov in the southern Sudan town of Rumbek, despite a post-mortem examination finding the death was suicide.
Forbes, who was suffering from malaria-related kidney problems and dehydration, was detained in Rumbek Prison in squalid conditions.
Parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs Greg Hunt said today Forbes was now out of jail and receiving treatment in hospital after Australia's ambassador to Egypt, Bob Bowker, made representations to Sudanese court officials.
"I had a call in the night from the ambassador to say they'd secured a bail order for Mr Forbes and managed to get him out of prison," Mr Hunt said.
"The latest advice I have is he's in a government hospital, he's been stabilised there and is awaiting a transfer.
"Then it becomes his choice - whether he's transferred to the UN hospital or possibly to his company's compound where he'd be attended by a doctor on site."
The breakthrough came after Mr Bowker met with Sudan's chief justice and "indicated how important this case was", Mr Hunt said.
"The court system issued a bail order - that he be allowed out of the prison and into the hospital," he said.
Conditions in Rumbek Prison had been "extremely rough" and like a "cesspit".
"There had been overflowing sewage and they were sleeping on the floor on a mattress that was damp," Mr Hunt said.
"We were passing him medicines and anti-malarials and anything to assist with anti-dehydration."
Australian officials were relieved about Forbes' health now that he was out of jail but were still concerned about the possibility he could be executed.
"On the health front we regard it as a very positive development," Mr Hunt said.
"On the legal front, there's progress, but we remain absolutely vigilant that it's a case where we will pull out all stops and follow it through to be absolutely certain that Mr Forbes' legal rights are protected."
Forbes was working for a Kenyan company in southern Sudan when he was arrested in March and charged with the murder of Mr Serebrenikov.
A post-mortem examination found the death was suicide but Forbes and three Kenyan colleagues were charged over the death.
Mr Hunt said Forbes was expected to appear in the Court of Appeal later this week where fresh evidence would be permitted to be heard.
One of Forbes' Australian lawyers, Alex Danne, was preparing a brief to submit through the ambassador by late today.
Australia remains opposed to the death penalty and is expected to make strong representations to Sudan in the event the court imposes a death sentence on Forbes.
"There hasn't been a sentence yet. We've made our position absolutely crystal clear that we are against it generally and completely against it in this case, were that to be the sentence," Mr Hunt said.
He praised the work of Mr Bowker, who has been living in a tent in Rumbek and a mud hut in Juba, southern Sudan's regional capital.
- AAP
