ICC will not give up its demand to handover indicted ex-Sudanese officials
On Sunday, Bensouda began a two-day visit to Darfur as she previously stated that she would like to meet communities affected by war crimes and crimes against humanity in the western Sudan region.
In statements to the Sudan News Agency after a meeting with the governor of North Darfur, she said that the militia leader Ali Kushayb would not be the last person to appear before the court.
“The International Criminal Court will continue to demand that the handover all those against whom arrest warrants have been issued in connection with the crimes committed in Darfur,” she said according to a report in Arabic.
She described as good the cooperation of the transitional government with the court pointing out that this would help achieve justice in Darfur.
The prosecutor further demanded to continue providing the court with the needed support to accomplish its mission in Darfur.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, affirmed their keenness to cooperate with the court and hand over the ousted President Omer al-Bashir after the end of his trial before the Sudanese courts.
The armed movements in Darfur made al–Bashir’s handover to the ICC one of the issues included in the Juba Peace Agreement.
Bensouda held a meeting with representatives of the displaced people in North Darfur camps at El Fasher University.
The representatives stressed their demand for justice and the trial of former regime officials.
For its part, the General Prosecutor urged the victims to cooperate with the investigation teams and provide them with the necessary information and evidence to complete the investigation files.
After a meeting with Bensouda on Saturday, Minni Minawi, Governor of the Darfur region, renewed their demand to send all the indicted former official to The Hague court.
Also, the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) welcomed the ICC General’ Prosecutor visit to Darfur and called her to visit all the camps for displaced people in Darfur and the areas that have recently been subjected to “heinous” attacks in Darfur.
The holdout group further called on the Sudanese government to hand over the wanted persons and fully cooperate with the ICC without condition.
(ST)