Move to prosecute al-Bashir unlawful: Sudan envoy

By RIA Novosti,

Moscow : Sudan’s envoy to Russia Shol Deng Alak Friday said the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) move to prosecute his country’s President Umar al-Bashir was illegal, against the international law and eroded trust in international justice.


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ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo last Monday accused Bashir of being behind the attacks on three ethnic groups in Darfur and requested an arrest warrant on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

“A demand like this undermines trust in international justice, is at variance with international law, and indicates that different standards are being applied to different regions and countries,” the ambassador told a press conference here.

He said the prosecutor’s demand was very dangerous, “since it requires the arrest of the president of a sovereign state that has not signed the Rome Charter and is not a member of the International Criminal Court”.

“Why should the world community be set against [Sudan] over the Hague court prosecutor’s demand, when the country is on its way to democracy?” he questioned.

According to UN estimates, some 300,000 people have died in the conflict in Darfur since 2003 and more than two million people have fled their homes.

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