Showing posts with label Fadi al-Abdullah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fadi al-Abdullah. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Sudan: ICC will ask new govt to extradite Bashir

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor:  According to an article by Ayin re-printed in full here below, the International Criminal Court (ICC) charges against Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir cannot be cancelled out by local trials since the ICC charges involve a threat to international security and cannot be waived.  Also:
  • "The two arrest warrants issued against Bashir are not subject to any statute of limitations, and the court will ask the coming government to extradite him," ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah told Ayin.
  • Regarding the possibility of accepting Bashir's trial in Sudan, Abdallah stipulated that the government should make such a request with guarantees that ensure an impartial investigation following the same charges initially filed by the international court.
  • Bashir’s defence team told Ayin the ICC charges against the former president do not concern them as the decision in this matter belongs to the state and its officials.
  • Defence lawyer Mohammed el Hassan el Ameen said they are focusing on Bashir’s charges of possession of foreign money in his office at the general command exclusively. “We, as a defence team, have not addressed the issue of the ICC, and there is a near agreement within the defence team, which is composed of more than 100 lawyers, not to go into the ICC issue and the charges against Bashir,” he said. 
Article from and by Ayin Network.com
Dated Tuesday 17 September 2019 
Bashir national trial continues, but ICC trial remains blocked
As the trial of deposed former president Omar Al-Bashir is set to continue this week, several sources claim former members of the ruling party, the National Congress Party, had prepared a plan to ensure the former president does not appear before the International Criminal Court and remain tried within the country.

Last week a packed courtroom heard the testimony of the former president’s office manager, Yaseer Basheer, claiming that the president gave him US$ 11 million, of which US$ 5 million was given to the notorious militia, the Rapid Support Forces. Bashir also gave US$ 4 million to the director and deputy director of the International University of Africa, a private institution with links to Islamists, according to the university’s accountant. Speaking for the first time in court, Bashir claimed he had received US$25 million from the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, among other sources. The former 30-year long authoritarian ruler is facing charges of possessing illicit foreign currency.
Speaking for the first time in court, Bashir claimed he had received US$ 25 million from the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, among other sources.

While Bashir’s gross fiscal mismanagement is gradually revealed in a national court, charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Darfur by the International Criminal Court (ICC) may never see the light of day.

Fearing their own implication through an ICC trial, several former ruling party cadres have lobbied members of the Sovereign Council to prevent Bashir’s trial to leave the national stage, according to sources close to the former ruling party that cannot be named for security reasons. The decision to ensure Bashir did not face the two ICC arrest warrants against him took place directly after the former president’s overthrow on 11 April, according to near-identical statements from the sources.

The plan to spare Bashir international legal scrutiny was adopted by the then Chairman of the Political Committee in the Military Council, General Omar Zain al Abideen, and announced during a press conference following Bashir’s ouster. Several National Congress Party (NCP) lawmakers and Gen. Abideen decided to file a police report against Bashir to bring him before an internal court, effectively blocking the ICC whose laws do not allow it to intervene in the event of legitimate national judicial proceedings.
“The two arrest warrants issued against Bashir are not subject to any statute of limitations, and the court will ask the coming government to extradite him,” ICC spokesman Fadi al-Abdullah told Ayin.

ICC
But the ICC has confirmed its determination to pursue Bashir at all costs, outlining the cases in which Bashir’s arrest warrants have been issued are not subject to the statute of limitations. “The two arrest warrants issued against Bashir are not subject to any statute of limitations, and the court will ask the coming government to extradite him,” ICC spokesman Fadi al-Abdullah told Ayin. Regarding the possibility of accepting Al-Bashir’s trial in Sudan, Abdullah stipulated that the government should make such a request with guarantees that ensure an impartial investigation following the same charges initially filed by the international court.

Advocate and international law expert Salih Mahmood said the ICC charges against Bashir cannot be canceled out by local trials since the ICC charges involve a threat to international security and cannot be waived. Mahmood supported the jurisprudence behind the ICC charges against Bashir, stressing that the national courts lacked independence and obstructed legal procedures by the existing authority at the time. 

The advocate claims these circumstances are still the same. “International law gives priority to national courts, but this priority is given in a climate of freedom, independence of the judiciary, and a favourable political situation consistent with international standards of justice,” Mahmood said. “The jurisdiction of the Sudanese courts to try Bashir does not apply –we have not yet seen the independence of the judiciary or even a favourable atmosphere for the trial of Bashir at home.”
Calls for judicial reform are growing. Mass protests organised by the Sudan Professionals Association took place on Thursday in Khartoum and several other towns calling for the replacement of senior judiciary officials and justice for those killed during the protests earlier this year. Sovereign Council member Siddiq Tawer tried to placate the crowd in Khartoum. “The appointment of an independent judiciary chief and a general attorney is one of the government’s priorities considering that justice is one of the demands of the revolution.  All those who have committed a crime against the people and country during the previous regime’s rule will be held accountable,” said Tawer.
“We, as a defense team, have not addressed the issue of the ICC, and there is a near agreement within the defense

Defence team not addressing ICC
Bashir’s defense team told Ayin the ICC charges against the former president do not concern them as the decision in this matter belongs to the state and its officials.

Defense lawyer Mohammed el Hassan el Ameen said they are focusing on Bashir’s charges of possession of foreign money in his office at the general command exclusively. “We, as a defense team, have not addressed the issue of the ICC, and there is a near agreement within the defense team, which is composed of more than 100 lawyers, not to go into the ICC issue and the charges against Bashir,” he said. “There are many statements made in the media by the leaders of the transitional government that affirm they are the decision-makers in trying the president internally or handing him over to the International Criminal Court,” he adds. “It’s not time yet.”

Countless conflict-displaced people in the western Darfur region may not agree with Bashir’s defense team. Mowada Yacoub is an internally displaced person [IDP] still eking out a living in Zam Zam camp in North Darfur and told Ayin justice for Bashir and his associates past war crimes should be a priority for the new transitional government. “The Bashir government is the reason why we are in the IDP camps and lost our families,” Yacoub told Ayin. “I lost my father, I lost my brother, grandfather, uncle –all of this happened during this war. We don’t feel happy after that – even our house was set on fire and our land taken by militias. I lost all of that because of the Bashir government.”

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FURTHER READING
From the website of the International Criminal Court (ICC):

Pre-trial
Once the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) has sufficient evidence against an individual, it submits a request to the Pre-Trial judges to issue a warrant of arrest or summons to appear.  

Al Bashir Case
The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir
The first warrant for arrest for Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir was issued on 4 March 2009, the second on 12 July 2010.  The suspect is still at large.  
Next steps:  Until Omar Al Bashir is arrested and transferred to the seat of the Court in The Hague, the case will remain in the Pre-Trial stage. The ICC does not try individuals unless they are present in the courtroom.
Charges: five counts of crimes against humanity: murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape; two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking part in hostilities, and pillaging; three counts of genocide: by killing, by causing serious bodily or mental harm, and by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction, allegedly committed at least between 2003 and 2008 in Darfur, Sudan.  

Alleged crimes (non-exhaustive list)

Pre-trial Chamber II 
Situation in Darfur, Sudan in the case of The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir.  Decision on the non-compliance by the Republic of Djibouti with the request to arrest and surrender Omar Al-Bashir to the Court and referring the matter to the United Nations Security Council and the Assembly of the State Parties to the Rome Statute.  
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Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Sudan: The last days of Bashir in the palace

  • On 30 August 2019 during the third trial session of Sudan's former president Omar al-Bashir, the court in Khartoum indicted Bashir on charges of suspicious enrichment and illegal dealing with foreign exchange.  This follows charges in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protestors during the demonstrations that led to his overthrow in April. 
  • According to the spokesperson of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Bashir’s 2009 arrest warrant for crimes against humanity under the ICC remains valid.  
  • “The court has and will continue seeking the compliance of Sudan with its obligation under international law and in relation to the resolution 1539 of the United Nations Security Council,” ICC Spokesperson Fadi el Abdallah told Ayin.
  • Bashir’s trial will resume tomorrow [07 Sep 2019] while a future trial at the Hague may become a reality if Sudan’s justice system cannot demonstrate a genuine national investigation and prosecution will take place, Abdallah added.  Full story:
Article from and by Ayin Network.com
Dated 06 September 2019 
The last days of Bashir in the palace, new days in court
The moment millions of Sudanese entered into the vicinity of the General Command of the Army Headquarters on 6 April [2019], the deposed former President al-Bashir was sitting on a chair with another set of empty chairs around him in the courtyard of his residence. Outside his presidential palace overlooking the Nile, protests against his rule intensified, eventually ousting him five days later.

Ayin conducted an exclusive interview with close confidants of the former president that worked within the presidential palace. The sources described to Ayin the scene they saw of the former president just days prior to his arrest. The names of these sources remain confidential for their security.

To curb stress, former president Bashir pulled tattered strings off his Muslim skull cap while three of his presidential aides entered the room. The conversation was stilted and everyone sat in awkward silence. To cut the tension, according to a witness, one of the two aides attempted to make small talk about Bashir’s cap, noting the colour and how it was the first time to see the former president wearing such a hat. Bashir responded by noting the skull cap was the “fashion of the day” and were worn among young people. Gaining access to the presidential palace and then Al-Bashir’s residence was challenging for the three presidential aides –loud protests calling for Bashir to step down could be heard all around them.

They were convinced that they must meet and console the former president in the palace at this difficult time, according to one of the aides. While driving tinted-window cars through the alleyways of central Khartoum to reach al-Bashir’s residence, the three aides could see the multitude of protestors and realised their days of employment were numbered. None of them could have predicted the turnout against the former president. The short distance from the presidential palace to the guest house where Bashir resided seemed longer than ever, the aide told Ayin. The short road appeared to represent the end of Bashir’s 30-year regime. 

The aides entered the former president’s residence at around 5 pm on 6 April where Bashir and his guards sat on full alert, covering the entrances, fearing an attack. A tear gas grenade could be heard outside from security forces in a futile attempt to disperse a crowd of millions in front of the army command post. Bashir could clearly hear the crowds chanting outside, calling for his ouster, according to the inside sources. 

Abdallah al-Bashir, the President’s brother, appeared with a number of Bashir’s bodyguards, and after the salute, he whispered in the president’s ear and called on the guards accompanying him to return to the palace. It turned out that he was accompanying them to the roof of the new palace building inside the general command of the army, where he was monitoring the masses outside and relaying what he saw to his brother. According to one of the former president’s aides, he had never seen Bashir appear so weak and distraught.

Another witness Ayin spoke to claims he saw the former head of security, Salah Gosh, speak to Bashir, allegedly promising to clear the area of the protestors outside his residence. But this never took place.
The break up that did not break
On 7 April, the security committee told President Bashir of their decision to break up the sit-in in front of the army headquarters. Bashir gathered his family and informed them of the decision and asked his relatives who were with him in the guest house to leave the palace and ordered his younger brother, Musaab, to stay with him, according to the two confidential sources that spoke to Ayin.

While waiting for the commencement of the security operation to break up the sit-in, Musaab and others went up to the roof of the palace to see the operation and how it was being carried out. Musab was accompanied by a number of the former president’s guards and security officers. Bullets could be heard. The source of bullets was not known to them before they learned moments later that an army force sided with the revolutionaries and exchanged fire with the security forces and even repulsed them to keep the sit-in going.

This was a difficult reality for those who planned to break up the sit-in and waited for the hour of victory to return directly from the top of their building to inform the former president that the operation had been successful. Instead, no genuine counter-attack against the protestors took place and Bashir would eventually find himself re-accommodated from a palace to a prison where he is currently facing trial. 

Sudan's Bashir 'took $90m from Saudi crown prince', corruption trial hears
[See tweet by Middle East Eye here:

On trial at home, possibly abroad
On 30 August during Bashir’s third trial session, the court indicted Bashir on charges of suspicious enrichment and illegal dealing with foreign exchange. This follows charges in May with incitement and involvement in the killing [https://3ayin.com/june-3-massacre/] of protestors during the demonstrations that led to his overthrow in April. 

Far from the glittery walls of the palace, the former president now sits in a cage in front of Justice Al Sadiq Abdul Rahman who refused a bail request, citing the law preventing such a measure for crimes that involve prison sentences that potentially exceed 10 years. 

But Bashir may face further trials in a different setting. According to the spokesperson of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Bashir’s 2009 arrest [https://www.icc-cpi.int/darfur/albashir] warrant for crimes against humanity under the ICC remains valid. “The court has and will continue seeking the compliance of Sudan with its obligation under international law and in relation to the resolution 1539 of the United Nations Security Council,” ICC Spokesperson Fadi el Abdallah told Ayin. Bashir’s trial will resume tomorrow [07 Sep 2019] while a future trial at the Hague may become a reality if Sudan’s justice system cannot demonstrate a genuine national investigation and prosecution will take place, Abdallah added.

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