Sudan Hints at ICC Trial for Bashir After Darfur Suspect Arrest

(Bloomberg) -- Sudan said it was willing to discuss trials for people wanted by the International Criminal Court, a group that includes ousted leader Omar al-Bashir, a day after the ICC announced the arrest of a wanted Darfur militia leader.

The Information Ministry on Wednesday welcomed the detention in neighboring Central African Republic of Ali Muhammad Ali Abdi-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, who’d been indicted on war-crimes charges for his role in the Darfur conflict in 2003 and 2004.

Ex-president Bashir, who was overthrown by the army amid mass protests in April 2019, is also wanted by The Hague-based court for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, which lies in western Sudan. The ministry’s brief statement didn’t mention him by name.

Sudan’s transitional government in February said that all ICC suspects would appear before the court as a condition of a peace deal that’s being negotiated with rebels. Authorities haven’t clarified whether this would mean individuals being transported to the Netherlands or standing trial remotely.

Bashir, who’s 76 and made the North African country an international pariah during his three-decade rule, is currently in jail in the capital, Khartoum, after being found guilty of illicitly possessing millions of dollars in foreign currencies.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.