ICC judges reject appeal on charges against Darfur rebel leader

April 26, 2010 (WASHINGTON) — The judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled last Friday that the prosecution has failed to provide grounds that warrant an appeal against a decision made last February to decline the confirmation of charges against a Darfur rebel leader.

Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, leader of Darfur United Resistance Front (URF), was accused by the prosecution of playing a role in the deadly assault that left 12 soldiers from the African Union (AU) peacekeepers dead and wounded eight others.

Most of the soldiers, from Botswana, Gambia, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal, were “executed” — shot at close range, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Abu Garda was the first individual to appear before The Hague based court in connection with the Darfur case. The rebel chief agreed to surrender himself voluntarily last year to face the charges saying he is confident of his innocence.

Last February the Pre-Trial Chamber I handed down a decision saying that there is not sufficient evidence to send Abu Garda to trial or that he could be held criminally responsible.

Per the ICC Statute there are three stages a suspect goes through which starts with issuance of an arrest warrant/summons to appear, confirmation of charges and finally the trial. At each step a higher threshold of evidentiary proof is applied.

The prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo requested permission by the chamber to appeal on three legal grounds saying the judges erred in applying the standard for reviewing his evidence against Abu Garda.

But judges rejected the challenge saying that the “arguments raised by the prosecution in its application for leave to appeal do not meet the requirements for an appeal,”.

“The Chamber is thus of the view that the alleged issue amounts to a mere disagreement with the findings of the Chamber, stemming from the exercise of its discretionary powers to freely assess the evidence submitted by the Prosecution for the purposes of the confirmation hearing. Such disagreement does not amount to an issue under article 82(l)(d) of the Statute”.

Today’s decision “does not preclude the prosecution from subsequently requesting the confirmation of the charges against Abu Garda if such request is supported by additional evidence,” the Hague based court said.

This is the first time the in the history of the court that the prosecution fails to move a case past the confirmation of charges hearings on at least one of the counts contained in a summons to appear or an arrest warrant.

The Sudanese government dismissed as a “theatrical play” Abu Garda’s appearance saying it was orchestrated by the ICC prosecutor to show his impartiality and pressure Sudan into cooperating with the court.

The ICC has to date issued three arrest warrants over the Darfur conflict — including one in March 2009 for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who rejects the court’s jurisdiction.

The ICC is the world’s only independent, permanent court with the jurisdiction to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

UN experts say 300,000 have died and 2.7 million been driven from their homes since rebels took up arms against Sudan’s government in 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting the region’s development. But Khartoum says 10,000 have died,

(ST)