Sudan: International Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Bashir

4 March 2009
allAfrica.com

The International Criminal Court issued a warrant Wednesday for the arrest of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity arising out of the war in Darfur.

However, the court declined to include the charge of genocide in the warrant. It said the prosecution had failed to provide reasonable grounds for believing that that government of Sudan had the intent to destroy specific groups of people in Darfur.

Bashir becomes the first sitting head of state to be indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Announcing the decision in a news conference at The Hague, the court's Dutch headquarters, spokeswoman Laurence Blairon said the court had appealed for cooperation in executing the warrant from the government of Sudan, from all states which subscribed to the court, from members of the United Nations Security Council and from other states whose help may be necessary.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2009 allAfrica.com. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.