Sudan To Hand Over Former President El Bashir to ICC

IN SUMMARY
This followed peace talks between the government and rebel groups in Darfur.

Sudan’s rulers have now agreed to hand over ex-President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges against humanity, over the conflict that broke out in Darfur region in 2003 and led to the deaths of 300,000.

This followed peace talks between the Sudan’s government and rebel groups from the Darfur region.

Authorities said the former president, and others charged by the ICC, should appear at The Hague to face a tribunal.

• “Justice cannot be achieved if we don’t heal the wounds,” said Mohammed Hassan al-Taishi, a spokesman for the Sudanese government.

Mr Taishi who is a civilian member of Sudan’s sovereign council, the body overseeing the country’s transition to democracy stressed that he was expressing the view of the government, which includes powerful generals in the military, and not his personal view.

The former Sudanese leader was ousted as president in April 2019 after coming into power in a military coup in 1989 and ruled the country with an iron fist.

In December 2019, Bashir was sentenced to two years in a social reform facility for corruption. Prosecutors in Sudan have also charged him with the killing of protesters during the demonstrations that led to him being ousted. Under Sudanese law, people over the age of 70 cannot serve jail terms.

ICC prosecutors in The Hague had requested that the former leader stand trial over the Darfur killings that saw around 2.5 million people displaced in the war according to the United Nations (UN).

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity

Bashir, 76, came to power in a military coup in 1989 and ruled Sudan with an iron fist