In March 2009, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and five other senior Sudanese officials for crimes against humanity and war crimes for murder, rape, torture, and displacement of civilian populations in Sudan’s restive Darfur region. (The other indictees include Ahmed Haroun, Ali Kushayb, Bahar Abu Garda, Abdallah Banda, and Saleh Jerbo.) In July 2010, it added charges of genocide to the indictment against President Bashir, based on evidence that the Sudanese government had carried out ethnic cleansing with the “intent to destroy in whole or in part an ethnic group.” Mr. Banda and Mr. Jerbo have appeared voluntarily before the ICC chamber, and their trials are due to begin in 2012. President Bashir remains a fugitive, and while he has visited several countries that are signatories to the ICC treaty, none has acted on behalf of the ICC in arresting Bashir.
Esam Al-Fetori /Reuters
