Sudan Says to ‘Hand over’ Bashir for International War Crimes Trial

Sudan’s deposed president Omar al-Bashir looks on from a defendant’s cage during the opening of his corruption trial in Khartoum on August 19, 2019. (AFP)
Sudan’s deposed president Omar al-Bashir looks on from a defendant’s cage during the opening of his corruption trial in Khartoum on August 19, 2019. (AFP)
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Sudan Says to ‘Hand over’ Bashir for International War Crimes Trial

Sudan’s deposed president Omar al-Bashir looks on from a defendant’s cage during the opening of his corruption trial in Khartoum on August 19, 2019. (AFP)
Sudan’s deposed president Omar al-Bashir looks on from a defendant’s cage during the opening of his corruption trial in Khartoum on August 19, 2019. (AFP)

Sudan will hand ousted longtime president Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court along with two other officials wanted over the Darfur conflict, Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi said Wednesday.

Bashir, 77, has been wanted by the ICC for more than a decade over charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Sudanese region.

The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in the Darfur conflict, which erupted in the vast western region in 2003.

The “cabinet decided to hand over wanted officials to the ICC,” Mahdi was quoted as saying by state news agency SUNA, without giving a time frame.

The cabinet’s decision to hand him over came during a visit to Sudan by ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, who met with Mahdi on Tuesday.

But the decision still needs the approval of Sudan’s transitional ruling body, the sovereign council, comprised of military and civilian figures.

On Wednesday, Khan met with the leader of the sovereign council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, as well as Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, its deputy chair.

Daglo said Sudan “is prepared to cooperate with the ICC,” SUNA reported.

ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah did not comment on the announcement, saying Khan was “in Khartoum to discuss cooperation matters”, but that the prosecutor would hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

The transitional authorities have previously said they would hand Bashir over, but one stumbling block was that Sudan was not party to the court’s founding Rome Statute.

But last week, Sudan’s cabinet voted to ratify the Rome Statute, a crucial move seen as one step towards Bashir potentially facing trial.

‘Horrific crimes’
Bashir, who ruled Sudan with an iron fist for three decades before being deposed amid popular protests in 2019, is behind bars in Khartoum’s high security Kober prison.

He is jailed alongside two other former top officials facing ICC war crimes charges -- ex-defense minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein and Ahmed Haroun, a former governor of South Kordofan.

The Hague-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir in 2009 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, later adding genocide to the charges.

Bashir was ousted by the military and detained in April 2019 after four months of mass nationwide protests against his rule.

The former strongman was convicted in December 2019 for corruption, and has been on trial in Khartoum since July 2020 for the Islamist-backed 1989 coup which brought him to power. He faces the death penalty if found guilty.

Amnesty International has previously called for Bashir to be held accountable for “horrific crimes”, referring to the genocide in Darfur.

Vow for justice
Sudan has been led since August 2019 by a transitional civilian-military administration, that has vowed to bring justice to victims of crimes committed under Bashir.

Khartoum signed a peace deal last October with key Darfuri armed groups, with some of their leaders taking top jobs in government, although violence continues to dog the region.

The Darfur war broke out in 2003 when factions took up arms complaining of systematic discrimination by Bashir’s government.

Khartoum responded by unleashing the notorious Janjaweed militia, recruited from among the region’s nomadic peoples.

Human rights groups have long accused Bashir and his former aides of using a scorched earth policy, raping, killing, looting and burning villages.

In July, a peacekeeping force completed its withdrawal from the war-ravaged region.

But after years of conflict, the arid and impoverished region is awash with automatic weapons and clashes still erupt, often over land and access to water.

Last year, alleged senior Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, also known by the nom de guerre Ali Kushayb, surrendered to the court.

ICC judges said in July he would be the first suspect to be tried over the Darfur conflict, facing 31 counts including murder, rape and torture.



Macron and Tebboune Announce Return of Normal ‘French-Algerian’ Relations

The Algerian and French presidents in August 2022 (Algerian presidency)
The Algerian and French presidents in August 2022 (Algerian presidency)
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Macron and Tebboune Announce Return of Normal ‘French-Algerian’ Relations

The Algerian and French presidents in August 2022 (Algerian presidency)
The Algerian and French presidents in August 2022 (Algerian presidency)

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, on Monday confirmed a normalization of ties after months of strained relations and agreed to reestablish political dialogue and relaunch cooperation on security and migration.
During a phone call, Macron urged Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” towards a jailed French-Algerian writer, Boualem Sansal, the Elysee palace said in a statement.
The author was sentenced last Thursday to five years in prison after an interview he gave to a French far-right media outlet was deemed to undermine Algeria's territorial integrity.
Macron “called for a gesture of mercy and humanity towards Mr Boualem Sansal, given the age and state of health of the writer,” the Elysee statement said.
French nationals living in Algeria and who mostly own private companies, are concerned that the diplomatic rift between both countries would affect their businesses.
They hope discussions between French and Algerian high ranking officials would halt the deterioration in bilateral relations.
Michel Bisac, president of the Algerian French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told the French-language news website Tout sur l'Algérie, that French residents in Algeria working in companies or in the finance and business fields, are “always welcomed by their Algerian partners.”
“The problem is mainly political,” he said in an attempt to minimize the escalated relations between both countries and its impact on jobs, and French investments in Algeria.
Bisac said most French companies have performed well in 2024, but the diplomatic escalation between the two countries has raised concerns.
“French companies in Algeria do not face any retaliatory measures. As for administrative difficulties, especially with regard to imports, they affect all foreign investors, and do not specifically target France,” he added.
Bisac said there is no campaign against France despite the tense relations, affirming that professional ties remain strong, and expatriates continue to work in a stable environment.
But as bilateral relations continue to deteriorate, he said, the economy could be affected, threatening years of Franco-Algerian cooperation.
Meanwhile, the government in Paris is divided on the French-Algerian crisis. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau vowed a “gradual response” after Algeria refused Paris’ demand to readmit Algerian nationals from France that local authorities have deemed a threat and are seeking to expel.
In return, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will travel to Algiers on April 11 at the invitation of his Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf, as part of the effort to mend ties between both countries. He is expected to meet with Tebboune.
Recently, Algerians have shown a willingness to dialogue, but the local press has continued its attacks on right-wing French officials, including presidential candidate Bruno Retailleau, who has called for the termination of the 1968 Franco-Algerian immigration agreement.
In return, Algeria's parliament established a commission to draft a law criminalizing French colonial rule, a move deemed “historical” and backed by local lawmakers, historians, and legal experts. Observers expect Algeria to abandon this step when relations between Algiers and Paris return to normal.