al-Bashir should be handed over immediately to the International Criminal Court - AI

al-Bashir

Embattled former Sudan president Omar al-Bashir continues to make the news consistently.

Joan Nyanyuki, Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, Amnesty International, has reacted to the news of his detainment in prison in Khartoum.

“More than a decade after the first arrest warrant was issued against him in 2009, the time has come for al-Bashir to face justice at the ICC,” Nyanyuki said.

“He stands accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide and must be immediately handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for due process to be followed. His case must not be hurriedly tried in Sudan’s notoriously dysfunctional legal system. Justice must be served.

“An ICC trial is not only vital for the victims of the atrocious crimes that led to his indictment but must constitute a first step in ensuring justice and accountability in the country. Sudan must take urgent steps to rebuild its justice sector but, in the meantime, the only way victims of his alleged crimes will see progress towards justice are if al-Bashir faces a fair trial at the ICC.”

The ICC has issued two arrest warrants for al-Bashir on the basis that there are reasonable grounds to believe that, along with war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, extermination and rape, he has committed genocide against the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.

Amnesty International has also cautioned countries against sabotaging justice for victims of the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide that al-Bashir is accused of by offering him asylum.