Amnesty International has insisted that Sudan’s former strongman Omar al-Bashir must be tried by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the restie region of Darfur.
Responding to Wednesday’s news that Bashir is being detained in Kober prison in Khartoum, Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said the foirmer president stands accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, and must be immediately handed over to the ICC for due process to be followed.
The ICC has issued two arrest warrants for Bashir on the basis that there are reasonable grounds to believe that, along with war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, extermination and rape, he committed genocide against the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.
“His case must not be hurriedly tried in Sudan’s notoriously dysfunctional legal system. Justice must be served” Nyanyuki said.
“An ICC trial is not only vital for the victims of the atrocious crimes that led to his indictment but must constitute a first step in ensuring justice and accountability in the country. Sudan must take urgent steps to rebuild its justice sector but, in the meantime, the only way victims of his alleged crimes will see progress towards justice are if Bashir faces a fair trial at the ICC” the AI official added.
Amnesty’s statement comes days after the new military council which deposed Bashir said he will not be tried abroad.
Meanwhile Amnesty said the authorities in Khartoum must ensure that the deposed leader, along with all others arrested and detained since the military coup, are protected from torture and other ill-treatment that have been typical of imprisonment in Sudan.
PR/as/APA