Sudan’s ruling coalition agrees to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC

November 3, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) announced on Sunday that all its components have agreed to hand over the ousted President Omer al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

FFC leading member and former chairman of the Sudanese Congress Party Ibrahim al-Sheikh said the ruling coalition agreed to hand al-Bashir over to the war crimes court once his trial at home has been completed.

“The forces of freedom and change have agreed to hand over ousted President Omer al-Bashir to the ICC, and there is no problem with that,” al-Sheikh told a news conference the FFC held on Sunday.

“If al-Bashir escapes prosecutions at home for the crimes he has committed, he will be punished by the (International) Criminal Court abroad,” he added.

Al-Sheikh statements are the first public statement by the ruling coalition over al-Bashir’s handover to The Hague-based court.

The military council had rejected al-Bashir’s handover saying it would be decided by the first elected government after the election within three years.

The Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, referred to the principle of complementarity, saying they would try him inside the country after the needed legal and judicial reforms.

The lack of clear vision on al-Bashir trial pushed the minister of justice on Saturday to deny supporting al-Bashir transfer for the ICC. He further said the government had not yet adopted a decision on this respect.

During a visit to Khartoum this week, senior EU officials asked the Sudanese government over its position on Bashir’s extradition to the ICC.

Also, Sudan’s Attorney General Taj al-Sir Ali al-Habir discussed the matter with the Darfur Bar Association al-Bashir’s handover to the ICC.

Following the meeting, the Deputy Chairman of the Darfur Lawyer Saleh Mahmoud said the two sides agreed it was not the right time to make statements over al-Bashir handover to the ICC.

Deposed President Omer al-Bashir, former defence minister Abdel Rahim Hussein and former governor of North Kordofan Ahmed Haroun face arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Darfur during the counterinsurgency operation that began in 2003.

(ST)