Sudan's former President Omar al-Bashir, ousted amid a popular uprising last year, went on trial Tuesday over the military coup that brought him to power more than three decades ago.  

Bashir, 76, could face the death penalty if convicted over the 1989 Islamist-backed overthrow of the government of Prime Minister Sadek al-Mahdi. 

A Sudanese court handed Bashir a two-year sentence in December on corruption charges. He also faces trials and investigations over the killing of protesters.

Along with Bashir, 27 co-accused were in the dock at the Khartoum court house, which was heavily guarded by police outside with AK-47 assault rifles, batons and tear gas grenades.  

"This court will listen to each of them and we will give each of the 28 accused the opportunity to defend themselves," said the president of the court, Issam al-Din Mohammad Ibrahim.  

Sudan has also pledged to hand over Bashir to the International Criminal Court to face trial on charges of war crimes and genocide in the Darfur conflict, which left 300,000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million in a campaign against a 2003 insurgency.  

Also in the dock were Bashir's former Vice Presidents Ali Osman Taha and Bakri Hassan Saleh and several of his former ministers and governors. They are accused of having plotted the June 30, 1989 coup in which the army arrested Sudan's political leaders, suspended parliament, closed the airport and announced the putsch on the radio.  

Bashir stayed in power for 30 years before being overthrown on April 11 last year after several months of unprecedented, youth-led street demonstrations.  

(With input from AFP, Reuters)