Sudan officially confirms Al-Bashir's surrender to ICC
Sudan has officially announced its agreement to hand over those wanted in the Darfur case, including dictator Al-Bashir, to the International Criminal Court.
This resolution was officially made during a meeting with Sudanese Foreign Minister Maryam Al-Sadiq in her office with ICC Prosecutor Karim Kahn, as reported by the Sudan News Agency SUNA. In doing so, the Foreign Ministry said the Council of Ministers decided to extradite those wanted by the International Court, and approved the draft law on Sudan's accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Thus, the two matters will be presented to a joint meeting between the Sovereignty Councils and the ministers to approve the extradition and ratify it.
Kahn also called for continued joint work with the foreign ministry to try to "implement the necessary measures" to support the International Tribunal in the Al-Bashir trial and expressed appreciation for the latest steps taken by the government to help "speed up the processes of justice and reparations for the victims".
In addition to Al-Bashir, the list of those wanted by the ICC includes his defence minister, Abdel Rahim Muhammad Hussein, and his interior minister, Ahmed Haroun, as well as Ali Kushayb, who surrendered and is currently on trial in The Hague.
On its official Twitter account, the Court indicated that ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan arrived in Khartoum, where he was received by the head of the Human Rights Department of the Sudanese Ministry of Justice, Dr. Osama Hamida Mahmoud. With Khan's arrival in Khartoum, the Prosecutor is also expected to hold meetings with diplomats and civil society representatives.
Federal Affairs Minister Buthaina Dinar told SUNA in June that "dictator Omar al-Bashir will eventually be extradited to the International Criminal Court (ICC) once the local judicial proceedings are completed". Following Minister Sadiq's confirmation, these proceedings have been completed, confirming al Bashir's readiness to finally face charges of war crimes and genocide at the ICC.
The former dictator has two warrants for his arrest by the ICC for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for alleged abuses committed under his rule in Darfur. The government's decision comes months after outgoing ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda called on Sudanese leaders to hand over al-Bashir.