NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: Here below is a news report from the FT dated 11 February 2020 entitled 'Sudan to send al-Bashir for trial at The Hague'. The report says, quote "Sudan will send Omar al-Bashir, its former leader who was ousted in a coup last April, to The Hague to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, according to a top Sudanese official".
Also copied below are some excerpts from an in-depth online BBC report dated 22 December 2019 entitled 'Darfur conflict: Sudan launches investigation into crimes'. The report states that Mr Bashir's former intelligence chief Mr Salah Gosh is among those under investigation, that there are four cases against Mr Gosh and that investigators have started a procedure to bring him back to Sudan by Interpol. The report goes on to say, quote "it is unclear whether Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo is under investigation. A former Janjaweed militia leader in Darfur, he turned against Bashir as protests grew and was named vice-president of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) after Bashir was forced out".
Incidentally, ten years ago the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Mr Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mr Bashir was one of 51 names recommended by the UN in 2005 for prosecution by the ICC for Darfur atrocities. Mr Gosh, reportedly currently residing in Egypt, is on the list.
Surprisingly, the current vice-president of Sudan's TMC, Gen Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - unless previously known by another name - does not appear to be on the list. Perhaps because the list is dated 2005 and Hemeti's Darfur war crimes were not committed until several years later (or to be precise: subsequent to 2013 according to Eric Reeves' tweet dated 16 Feb 2020 [ https://twitter.com/sudanreeves/status/1229111767990562816 ] regarding Hemeti complaining about himself being marginalised (you can't make this stuff up) by the Hamdok government and calling for a code of conduct!
The List of Top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (Africa Confidential) published online in 2005 can be found under ‘Further Reading’ below.
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Copy of online news report from The Financial Times - www.ft.com
By DAVID PILLING in London
Publication date: 11 February 2020
Title: Sudan to send al-Bashir for trial at The Hague
Former leader could face charges for genocide and crimes against humanity
Photo: Omar al-Bashir was toppled in April last year after ruling Sudan for 30 years © Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty
Sudan will send Omar al-Bashir, its former leader who was ousted in a coup last April, to The Hague to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, according to a top Sudanese official.
Without naming Mr Bashir specifically, Mohamed al-Hassan al-Taishi, a civilian member of Sudan’s joint military-civilian sovereign council, told a press conference on Tuesday that anyone facing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court would face trial in The Hague.
“We agreed that everyone who had arrest warrants issued against them will appear before the ICC. I’m saying it very clearly,” Mr al-Taishi said, according to multiple reports.
Mr Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years, was toppled last year after months of protests in which millions of ordinary Sudanese took to the streets demanding his resignation. His regime was accused of committing atrocities, including murder and rape, in Darfur, a region in the west of the country, during an uprising against Khartoum.
Last July, the military agreed to share power with civilians as part of a 3½-year transition towards democratic elections. Mr Bashir is currently in prison in Khartoum.
We hope he will be sent [to The Hague], said Michel Arditti, permanent secretary to Abdul Wahid al-Nour, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, a rebel group in Sudan that fought against Mr Bashir’s regime.
Mr Arditti cautioned that some loyalists to Mr Bashir’s regime opposed extradition, although he said there were members of the sovereign council, including General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the chairman, and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemeti, who might be willing to “trade him in”.
Last week Mr Burhan took the unusual step of meeting Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, in Uganda while he is due to visit Washington for a meeting with Michael Pompeo, US secretary of state, this month. “This could be seen as painting a new picture of Sudan moving back into the international fold,” said Jonas Horner, a Sudan expert with the Crisis Group.
Mr Horner said giving up Mr Bashir could even be part of negotiations aimed at removing Khartoum from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, essential to get investments flowing back into a Sudanese economy that is on its knees.
Sudan’s new government is desperate to show that it can improve lives for those who rose up against Mr Bashir, but it has made slow progress. Sporadic protests have continued throughout the country and splits have emerged within the sovereign council.
The ICC has been pressing for the trial of Mr Bashir for war crimes following his conviction in a Sudanese court last December for minor crimes of money laundering.
The UN estimates that up to 400,000 people died in the conflict in Darfur and nearly 3m more were displaced, with militia formed by Mr Bashir blamed for the worst atrocities.
The ICC has a patchy record in prosecuting people for serious war crimes. Last year it sentenced Bosco Ntaganda, a Congolese former rebel leader, to 30 years in prison. Mr Arditti said it was not clear whether the ICC, which has not been able to send investigators to Sudan, had assembled a watertight case against Mr Bashir.
Calls made by the FT to the prime minister’s office in Khartoum went unanswered.
All Comments
Zoran 6 DAYS AGO
Let the people of Sudan fulfill their potential!
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2020. All rights reserved.
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Further Reading
Excerpts from BBC Africa online news report - www.bbc.co.uk
Publication date: 22 December 2019
Title: Darfur conflict: Sudan launches investigation into crimes
Image copyright REUTERS
Image caption Ex-ruler Bashir already faces a range of other charges
“Sudan has launched an investigation into crimes committed in the Darfur region under former President Omar al-Bashir, the state prosecutor [Tagelsir al-Heber] says. A trial could take place outside the country, Tagelsir al-Heber said. Ten years ago the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. […]
Mr Heber said the Darfur investigation was focusing on "cases against former regime leaders". He did not give names, but said no-one would be excluded from the investigation. All crimes committed during the Darfur conflict would be looked at, he said - including numerous incidents of murder and rape. If necessary, the trial could take place abroad, Mr Heber said, raising the prospect that Bashir could be transferred to the ICC in The Hague. […]
Bashir's feared former intelligence chief Salah Gosh is also being investigated, Mr Heber said. The head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) quit in April two days after the Bashir was ousted and left the country. "There four cases against Salah Gosh and we started a procedure to bring him [back to Sudan] by Interpol," he said.
It is unclear whether Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo is under investigation. A former Janjaweed militia leader in Darfur, he turned against Bashir as protests grew and was named vice-president of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) after Bashir was forced out.
View full report: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-50887252
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Article from Sudan Watch archive dated 21 February 2006
Title: List of top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)
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