Sudanese man counters allegations on ICC espionage at court
December 29, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese man today denied accusations of trying to obtain sensitive documents for the purpose of passing it to the International Criminal Court(ICC).
Mohamed Al-Sary Ibrahim appeared before court today where prosecutors are seeking to indict him for counts that could send him to the death row.
Ibrahim who is a former security officer faced charges that included dealing with an enemy country, spying, working to topple the state and passing on confidential documents.
Sudanese authorities have started cracking down on individuals suspected of cooperating with the ICC or even sympathizing with it.
Last month Sudan security arrested three activists and interrogated them on their links with the ICC.
Those arrested included Osman Hummida, Moniem El-Gak and Amir Suleiman. The activists claimed that they were subject to torture during their detention period.
Today Ali Mahmoud Hassanein, an opposition leader was briefly detained interrogated about his public comments in support of the ICC in its case against president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.
In mid-July the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno- Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder and accused Al-Bashir of masterminding a campaign to get rid of the African tribes in Darfur; Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.
The ICC judges are still reviewing the evidence before making a ruling that could come as early as next month.
Today’s case in Sudanese courts is the first of its kind with regard to Sudanese nationals allegedly cooperating with the Hague based court.
A Sudanese intelligence officer Omar Abdel last week told Khartoum north court that Ibrahim had been caught in a sting operation receiving confidential documents from a contact in one of Sudan’s police forces.
The officer said Ibrahim had been trying to find documents to “fabricate a relationship” between Ahmed Haroun, Sudan’s state minister for humanitarian affairs, and the pro-government Janjaweed militias that are accused of war crimes in Darfur.
The ICC has already issued an arrest warrant for Haroun, accusing him of masterminding killings in the region. Sudan, which has signed but not ratified the treaty establishing the court, has refused to hand him over.
Abdel accused Sari of being willing to pay police between 10,000 and 100,000 dollars for documents detailing the number of people in special police camps, their names, weapons and training, and a photograph of Haroun visiting them.
He said Sari had been in contact with an unnamed Jordanian and three Sudanese Americans, one of them his cousins, who were allegedly trying to help him pass the secrets to the ICC.
But Ibrahim told the court on Monday he had only asked his contact to supply him with false travel documents, to allow him to leave the country for medical treatment.
“He gave me the papers. But before I knew what was in the papers, about six men with guns came in and arrested me…I had no idea what was going on” he said.
Ibrahim told the court national security officers had tortured him after he was arrested to try and get him to confess to working with the ICC. But he had refused, he added.
The judge on Monday said Ibrahim would be formally charged with the less serious offences of criminal conspiracy and passing on confidential military documents.
Those charges, lawyers told Reuters after the hearing, carried only prison terms.
The case was due to continue on Tuesday
(ST)