KHARTOUM -

About two months after the visit of the former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, to Sudan, her successor, Karim Assad Khan, arrived in Khartoum with the same files, foremost of which is the need to extradite the leaders of the former regime wanted to appear before the court in The Hague.

The visit of the new Prosecutor also comes just days after the Sudanese Council of Ministers approved a bill to join the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court, which gives Khan's talks in Khartoum a remarkable impetus.

About 11 years ago, the International Criminal issued arrest warrants for former President Omar al-Bashir and his Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Muhammad Hussein, along with Ahmed Haroun, who held several positions in the ousted government. The three leaders are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the western Darfur region.

The arrest warrants issued by the court also included both Abdullah Banda - one of the leaders of the rebel movements - and Ali Kushayb, who surrendered to the court in June of last year after his arrival in Central Africa.

The government army and allied militias fought a violent war against rebel factions and movements that began in 2003 and ended in 2014, although the region is still witnessing instability due to bloody tribal conflicts and the activity of militias attacking many villages to which hundreds of displaced people have returned.

decision to hand over

After the change in Sudan and the overthrow of the Bashir regime on April 11, 2019, the transitional government found itself in front of an obligation to comply with the requirements of international law and cooperate with the International Criminal Court regarding the extradition of the three wanted persons, which was confirmed by its official institutions, and was reinforced last week by ratifying the Accession to the Rome Statute.

Khan discussed with officials in Khartoum the file of extradition to the International Criminal Court (communication sites)

The Sudanese Foreign Minister, Maryam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, conveyed assurances to the ICC prosecutor and the delegation accompanying him during a meeting held on Tuesday that "the cabinet decided to hand over the wanted persons to the International Criminal Court."

She explained that the decision to extradite the wanted persons and the draft law to join the Treaty of Rome will be presented to the joint meeting of the Sovereignty Councils and the Ministers, who act as an interim parliament, to approve the decision and pass the law.

Despite the insistence and assertion of influential people in the transitional government to cooperate with the Criminal Court, ambiguity still surrounds the timing of the extradition of wanted senior leaders of the former regime, especially as they are behind the walls and are subject to trials in internal cases.

During her talks in Khartoum in early June, the former prosecutor of the Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, said that she had asked the officials she met with to hand over one of the wanted men, Ahmed Haroun, before July, according to the judges’ request, because he faces the same charges against Ali Kushayb, and she spoke About that the court's period allowed to confirm the charges will take place on that date, "so the ideal situation is for them to be tried together," she said.

But that has not happened so far, although Harun had requested earlier to be deported to The Hague, complaining of the palaces of justice in Sudan.

With my unlimited support for the step of ratifying the Rome Statute, I hope at the same time a thorough legal study to ensure consistency with constitutional principles, Sudanese laws, regional and international commitments to Sudan and its foreign relations.

— Wasil Ali - Wasil Ali (@wasilalitaha) August 3, 2021

Prosecutors brought 31 counts of Kushayb in relation to war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between August 15-16, 2003, in the Densi and Kudam areas, in addition to crimes committed in the Mukjar area in April 2004.

War crimes included leading attacks against civilians, murder, attempted murder, rape, torture, cruel treatment, looting and destruction of personal property, and outrages upon human dignity.

Crimes against humanity included murder, rape, population displacement, torture and persecution of persons on political and ethnic grounds.

According to Bensouda's statement, she did not feel any refusal by Sudanese government officials to extradite Haroun, but she indicated that negotiations are still ongoing.

She continued, "If this matter is not achieved in time, we will proceed with the trial of Ali Kushayb, and therefore Harun will be tried later, and we will enter into the same procedures again, and this matter leads to a delay in justice."

Complications about Bashir

A senior government official - who spoke to Al Jazeera Net - confirms that the discussions within the Council of Ministers were resolved by completing the extradition of the wanted persons as required by the Criminal Court, but the decision in its final form is subject to approval in the interim parliament, in which military leaders participate, as well as the leaders of the armed movements that signed the agreement. Peace and it is strict in completing the handover process to bring justice to the victims in Darfur and the regions of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

According to identical sources in the government - who say that they are not authorized to declare - that the handover of former President Omar al-Bashir was tainted by complications due to the military leaders' objection to the move and their insistence that he be tried inside, while the soldiers themselves are not strict about the extradition of Ahmed Haroun and Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein, but that It is still shrouded in mystery.

The same situation was referred to by Bensouda when she said when asked about the government’s position on the extradition of Al-Bashir, “I do not know what is going on in people’s minds, but what I can say is that we have issued arrest warrants that have not been implemented for a very long time, but if the government wants to try him, there is a principle called the principle Integration, if it wants to do that, we will engage in negotiations with it and if they start prosecuting him here we will continue to follow it.”

And she continued, "I do not know what the Sudanese government's idea is, and what formula will take place, but - in any case - we have done our work and are waiting for the arrest warrants to be implemented."

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok affirmed his commitment to cooperating with the International Criminal (communication sites)

The blogger and journalist interested in the affairs of the International Criminal Court, Wasel Ali, believes that Khartoum may intend to extradite the wanted persons, with the exception of Al-Bashir, who said that his situation is surrounded by some difficulties, including his high military position, which makes - according to his interview with Al Jazeera Net - the approval of his military colleagues to extradite a difficult matter. Somewhat, in addition to the reasoning by confronting him with internal issues.

The Minister of Justice, Nasr al-Din Abdul Bari, who met the court's attorney general, Karim Asad Khan, and his accompanying advisors, discussed with him what was interrupted in the previous meetings between the government and the criminal court within the framework of cooperation between the two parties.

The Minister of Justice confirmed - according to an official statement - the transitional government's interest in achieving justice in Sudan and working with the Criminal Court to achieve justice for the victims of the war in Darfur.

As for Khan, he conveyed to the minister "the importance of taking practical steps to bring justice to the victims of the war in Darfur, and to hold those responsible for the international crimes committed against them accountable."

During the meeting with the Sudanese Public Prosecutor in charge Mubarak Mahmoud, they discussed cooperation between the Public Prosecution and the International Criminal Court regarding war crimes and symbols of the former regime wanted by international justice. .

The Public Prosecution said in a press statement that the meeting between the two parties concluded an agreement to "continue joint work in a way that enables the completion of all files and crowning the understandings by bringing the accused to justice."