Sudan says investigation underway with Darfur militia leader
May 6, 2009 (KHARTOUM) – A Darfur war crimes suspect wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 2007 is still undergoing investigation to determine if he can be criminally charged.
Sharfi stressed that the investigations are going in the right direction “in light of evidence” saying that the judiciary is “independent and fair”.
He revealed that more than 36 members of the armed forces have been prosecuted in crimes relating to murder and looting and some have received death sentences.
However he did not say whether the individuals were sentenced recently or since special courts were established in 2005 but said that this proves that Sudan is actually pursuing justice in Darfur “contrary to what the international community says”.
“Do they [international community] want us to prosecute everyone in Darfur?” he said angrily.
The Sudanese judge flatly rejected any proposal to establish hybrid courts in Darfur consisting of African and Arab judges.
Khartoum has rejected the referral by the UN Security Council (UNSC) of the Darfur case to the ICC in 2005 saying its judiciary is capable of conducting its own prosecutions.
Sudan cooperated with missions from the ICC until the court opened cases in February 2007 against Kushayb and Ahmed Haroun, state minister for humanitarian affairs on 51 counts of alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Following that Khartoum announced that Kushayb is standing before court on alleged crimes committed in Darfur but the Sudanese president prevented any investigation with Haroun.
Shortly afterwards the former Sudanese justice minister Mohamed Ali al-Mardi banned any publication on Darfur war crime trials.
In October 2007 Sudan’s former foreign minister Lam Akol told the pro-government daily Al-Rayaam from New York that Kushayb was freed “due to lack of incriminating evidence against him”.
However Al-Mardi issued a quick denial to the Al-Rayaam report describing it as “false” without directly commenting on Akol’s statements.
The former Justice Minister was asked again by Al-Rayaam last November on the whereabouts of Kushayb and he reiterated that the militia leader was “never released” before saying that he refrained from commenting on the issue “because it is under investigation”.
In April 2008 the spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in London, Khalid Al-Mubarak was quoted by Voice of America (VOA) as saying that Haroun and Kushayb were not prosecuted “because there is no evidence against them”.
Again in June 2008 Amin Hassan Omar, a leading figure in the National Congress Party (NCP) and a state minister also confirmed Kushayb’s release.
Sudan appointed special prosecutor for Darfur after the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced in July 2008 that he requested an arrest warrant against Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir.
In October 2008 the Sudanese justice minister Abdel-Baset Sabdarat announced that Kushayb will stand trial again on unspecified charges.
The Sudanese justice undersecretary Abdel-Daim Zumrawi told Reuters at the time that Kushayb has been detained in Sudan several months ago and that evidence against him is complete.
“The prosecutors have collected all the evidence against them. I am not sure whether it will be placed before a court…Kushayb has been under arrest for a long time” Zumrawi said.
In the following months Sudanese officials have said that Kushayb is still undergoing investigation on his role in Darfur crimes.
The Sudanese justice minister also blocked an attempt by the special prosecutor to investigate Haroun.
Last month Sabdarat said that judicial prosecutions in Darfur will not be possible saying that circumstances are unfavorable in light of the ongoing conflict.
On March 4th the ICC judges officially charged Bashir for seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity making him the first sitting head of state to be indicted by The Hague based court.
The warrant drew strong rebuke from Arab, African and Islamic countries who called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to suspend it.
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Nal Dit Kum
Sudan says investigation underway with Darfur militia leader
Whoever is call Darfur militias was not acting above the law. He was acting under an order from the bastard Bashir. Therefore, the head of state is the one to be held accountable not those on the ground.