Sudan sentenced Major General Abdul Ghaffar al-Sharif, former National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), to seven years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of 7 million Sudanese pounds (about a quarter of a million dollars). It is worth noting that Sudanese officials launched an anti-corruption campaign this week. “The court convicted Maj. Gen. Abdul Ghaffar al-Sharif through law stipulations cited in Article 59 of the National Security Act of 2010,” Sharif’s defense lawyer Hassan Burhan told Asharq Al-Awsat. He said that his client faced charges over misusing authority vested in him and exploiting his ranking in order to receive bribes or harm to others. “It sentenced him to seven years in prison,” Burhan added. After finding solid evidence of the defendant violating article 71 of the National Security Law, Sharif was billed a fine to be collected according to the Civil Procedure Act 1983. The defendants lawyer declined to reveal any further details. However, he explained that his client authorized him to take all legal measures to defend his best interest. The court granted the convict the right for appeal, giving the convict a 15-day period to prepare an appeal and overturn rulings. Any appeal issued is to be directed to the Military Court of Appeal. Sharif, alongside others, was arrested on charges of corruption. His trial began last July, after the state security prosecution charged him with criminal law charges, including “treason, bribery, ransom and corruption, money laundering, support for terrorism” and other clauses relating to national security. However, the court dismissed some of the charges and merely condemned him on charges relating to exploitation of influence among staffers and inappropriate conduct. Sharif, who had extensive influence within the national security and intelligence service, was forced to resign in February shortly after the head of the agency, Maj. Gen. Salah Abdallah, was reinstated as Director General of NISS after being dismissed several years ago. The trial of the former security official comes as part of a campaign to fight corruption announced by President Omar al-Bashir in February and carried out by the NISS.