Darfur tribunal sentences suspected kidnappers, carjackers to prison

May 7, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese special tribunal has convicted and sentenced two individuals to a decade-long prison term on charges of kidnapping of foreigners and carjacking in the country’s war-battered region of Darfur, state-media reported on Friday.

Sudan’s state-run radio announced that the Darfur Special Criminal Court, which was first setup by the government in 2005 to adjudicate cases of crimes in the western region, convicted two suspects accused of kidnapping nine foreigners and stealing of two vehicles belonging to the charity World Vision.

The two defendants, whose names were kept anonymous, had been sentenced to serve a prison term of ten years after being convicted under Article 157 of the criminal law on robbery and theft, the radio reported.

Another suspect, who is a minor, was referred to rehabilitation for a period of six years.

Twenty-two foreigners, mostly working for international NGOs, have been kidnapped in Darfur since March 2008 when the International Criminal Court (ICC) charged Sudan President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir with war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the course of the eight-year conflict in Darfur.

All hostages were eventually freed but it has recently emerged that the Sudanese authorities had paid ransom to kidnappers who are often former members of the government militias.

There is also a high incidence of carjacking vehicles belonging to NGOs in the region.

Sudan’s western Sudan region of Darfur has been beset by violence since 2003 after rebels began an armed insurgency against Khartoum accusing the central government of supporting land grabbing by Arab tribes and neglecting development.

To counter the rebels, the central authorities used local militiamen who targeted civilians. The Janjaweed killed villagers and burnt their homes. They are also accused of raping women and torturing captives.

The Darfur Special Criminal Court has to date failed to bring charges against any Sudanese official. Darfur special prosecutor Abdel-Dayem Zumrawi last year acknowledged that the pursuit of justice in Darfur was obstructed by political interferences.

(ST)