Sudan rejects ICC arrest warrants

May 2, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan rejected the first arrest warrants issued Wednesday by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the Darfur conflict for a Sudanese minister of state and a militia leader accused of murder, torture and rape.

“Sudan rejects the ICC prosecutor’s decision and our position is in line with international law because Sudan is not a member of the treaty that founded this jurisdiction,” Mohammed Ali al-Mardhi told reporters.

In documents released Wednesday, ICC judges said there were “reasonable grounds” to conclude that Ahmed Haroun, Sudan’s secretary of state for humanitarian affairs and a former minister in charge of Darfur, and Ali Kosheib, a principal leader of the Khartoum-backed Janjaweed militia, were “criminally responsible” for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The arrest warrants, dated April 27, charge the pair with a long list of 51 counts including murder, torture, mass rape and the forced displacement of entire villages during a series of attacks in western Darfur in 2003 and 2004.

(AFP)