Sudan probes Janjaweed leader indicted by ICC
September 1, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese special prosecutor for Darfur war crimes Nimr Ibrahim Mohamed confirmed that he is investigating allegations against a militia leader indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last year.
The judges of the ICC issued arrest warrants in April 2007 for Ahmed Haroun, state minister for humanitarian affairs, and Kushayb in connection with Darfur war crimes.
“We are continuing our interrogation of Ali Kushayb who is accused of committing war crimes in the region” Mohamed said in a brief statement to reporters.
The Sudanese prosecutor said that all the cases he is reviewing are “old” ones including that of Kushayb. He also said his office is taking testimonies from a number of witnesses whose names were mentioned in the cases he is handling.
The ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo Ocampo announced in mid-July that he requested an arrest warrant against Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir. Following that Sudan has been looking into ways that would allow it to avoid confrontation with the international community.
The Sudanese justice minister Abdel-Basit Sabdarat appointed the special prosecutor last month as part of legal means to deflect ICC jurisdiction over Darfur case.
The ICC Statute prevents investigation into crimes that were looked into by local judiciary under the concept of “complementarity”.
Khartoum must prosecute Haroun and Kushayb for the same accusations brought against them by the ICC in order for the latter to lose jurisdiction over their cases.
Sudanese officials have said in the past that they investigated both suspects and cleared them of any wrongdoings. Al-Bashir said that he will not allow further investigations with Haroun nor will he remove him from office.
Kushayb was reportedly in custody and released later despite official denial in the beginning.
Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statute, but the UNSC triggered the provisions under the Statute that enables it to refer situations in non-State parties to the world court if it deems that it is a threat to international peace and security.
(ST)
Justin Chicago opiny
Sudan probes Janjaweed leader indicted by ICC
It is just a waste of time trying to correct something that has gone wrong beyond correction.Once the Milk is spilt let it go and try very hard to take control of your milk container to avoid another spilt.Many people have gone through the ICC all that is needed is justice.If you are supporting criminals definitely you will be considered a criminal. Try to avoid that to avoid a repeat of the ICC to run after other officials.