ICC ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR BASHIR

Today, as expected, the International Criminal Court at the Hague in the Netherlands issued a warrant for the arrest of Omar al Bashir, President of Sudan. Bashir is charged with five counts of crimes against humanity (murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape) and two counts of war crimes (intentionally directing attacks against civilian populations and pillaging). The three judges who reviewed the case did not find sufficient evidence to support the accusation of genocide. Bashir is alleged to have coordinated the design and implementation of these crimes. The court will issue a communique to the countries of the world requesting their assistance in the capture and remanding of Bashir.

The following are excerpts from the official ICC announcement:

Today, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the arrest of Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, President of Sudan, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is suspected of being criminally responsible, as an indirect (co-)perpetrator, for intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians, and pillaging their property. This is the first warrant of arrest ever issued for a sitting Head of State by the ICC.

Omar Al Bashir’s official capacity as a sitting Head of State does not exclude his criminal responsibility, nor does it grant him immunity against prosecution before the ICC, according to Pre-Trial Chamber I.

According to the Judges, the above-mentioned crimes were allegedly committed during a five year counter-insurgency campaign by the Government of Sudan… A core component of that campaign was the unlawful attack on that part of the civilian population of Darfur.

The Chamber found that Omar al Bashir, as the de jure and de facto President of Sudan and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, is suspected of having coordinated the design and implementation of the counter-insurgency campaign. In the alternative, it also found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that he was in control of all branches of the “apparatus” of the State of Sudan and used such control to secure the implementation of the counter-insurgency campaign.

The counts

The warrant of arrest for Omar Al Bashir lists 7 counts on the basis of his individual criminal responsibility including:

· five counts of crimes against humanity: murder; extermination; forcible transfer; torture; and rape;

· two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities; and pillaging.

Findings concerning genocide

The majority of the Chamber, Judge Anita Ušacka dissenting, found that the material provided by the Prosecution in support of its application for a warrant of arrest failed to provide reasonable grounds to believe that the Government of Sudan acted with specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa groups. Consequently, the crime of genocide is not included in the warrant issued for the arrest of Omar Al Bashir. Nevertheless, the Judges stressed that if additional evidence is gathered by the Prosecution, the decision would not prevent the Prosecution from requesting an amendment to the warrant of arrest in order to include the crime of genocide.

Co-operation of States

The Judges directed the Registrar to prepare and transmit, as soon as practicable, a request for cooperation for the arrest and surrender of Omar Al Bashir to Sudan, and to all States Parties to the Rome Statute and all United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members that are not party to the Statute, as well as to any other State as may be necessary.


CNN's website has posted a number of stories related to the Bashir arrest warrant, I include links to two of them here:

International Court issues arrest warrant for Sudanese president

Sudan soldier: 'They told me to kill, to rape children'


There have been reports of public displays of military strength by the Sudanese Armed Forces on the streets of communities in Darfur, but I have not yet heard any reports of violence. Things in Torit remain calm, with life going on as usual. No difficulties are expected to surface here.