Sudan says will ‘hand over’ al-Bashir to ICC for war crimes trial
Sudan will hand longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) along with two other officials wanted over the Darfur conflict, officials say.
Al-Bashir, 77, has been wanted by The Hague-based ICC for more than 10 years over charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Sudanese region.
The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in the Darfur conflict, which erupted in the vast western region in 2003.
The “cabinet decided to hand over wanted officials to the ICC,” Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi was quoted as saying by state news agency SUNA, without giving a timeframe.
The cabinet’s decision to hand him over came during a visit by ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, but it still needs the approval of Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, comprised of military and civilian figures.
On Wednesday, Khan met the sovereign council’s leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, its deputy chair. Daglo said Sudan “is prepared to cooperate with the ICC”, SUNA reported.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who also met Khan, on Wednesday said “Sudan’s commitment to seek justice is not only to abide by its international commitments, but it comes out of a response to the people’s demands”.
‘Special Court of Darfur’
It remains unclear if al-Bashir would be extradited to face trial in The Hague, or could remain in Sudan.
Volker Perthes, the UN Special Representative to Sudan, on Wednesday said the ICC “can help” with the “establishment of (a) Special Court for Darfur”, without giving further details.
The transitional authorities have previously said they would hand al-Bashir over, but one stumbling block was that Sudan was not party to the court’s founding Rome Statute.
But last week, Sudan’s cabinet voted to ratify the Rome Statute, a crucial move seen as one step towards al-Bashir potentially facing trial.
ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah did not comment on the announcement, saying Khan was “in Khartoum to discuss cooperation matters” but that the prosecutor would hold a news conference on Thursday afternoon.
The cabinet’s decision to hand him over came during a visit by ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, but it still needs the approval of Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, comprised of military and civilian figures.
On Wednesday, Khan met the sovereign council’s leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, its deputy chair. Daglo said Sudan “is prepared to cooperate with the ICC”, SUNA reported.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who also met Khan, on Wednesday said “Sudan’s commitment to seek justice is not only to abide by its international commitments, but it comes out of a response to the people’s demands”.
‘Special Court of Darfur’
It remains unclear if al-Bashir would be extradited to face trial in The Hague, or could remain in Sudan.
Volker Perthes, the UN Special Representative to Sudan, on Wednesday said the ICC “can help” with the “establishment of (a) Special Court for Darfur”, without giving further details.
The transitional authorities have previously said they would hand al-Bashir over, but one stumbling block was that Sudan was not party to the court’s founding Rome Statute.
But last week, Sudan’s cabinet voted to ratify the Rome Statute, a crucial move seen as one step towards al-Bashir potentially facing trial.
ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah did not comment on the announcement, saying Khan was “in Khartoum to discuss cooperation matters” but that the prosecutor would hold a news conference on Thursday afternoon.
