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Sudan rebel leader to appear before ICC

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Sudanese war crimes suspect and rebel leader Bahr Idriss Abu Garda on Sunday surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Abu Garda is accused of committing three crimes against the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) during a September 2007 attack. The ICC alleges that the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), under Abu Garda's command, along with other troops, killed 12 and wounded eight AMIS soldiers. Based on his willingness to appear, the court issued a summons for Abu Garda rather than issuing an arrest warrant. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo addressed the violence against peacekeepers in Darfur, stating:By killing peacekeepers, the perpetrators attacked the millions of civilians who those soldiers came to protect. They came from Senegal, from Mali, from Nigeria, from Botswana, to serve and protect. They were murdered. Attacking peacekeepers is a serious crime under the Statute and shall be prosecuted. Such attacks ... have a direct impact on the delivery of vital services and thereby exacerbate the suffering of vulnerable groups. They impact on the lives of thousands.Abu Garda is the first suspect to appear before the ICC in regards to the Darfur investigation.After opening the investigation into violence against peacekeepers in Darfur in December 2007, Moreno-Ocampo stated that "such attacks can constitute war crimes within the ICC's jurisdiction." Abu Garda is the fourth person set to be prosecuted by the ICC in regards to the Darfur investigation. The court is also pursuing cases against Ahmad Harun, Ali Kushayb, and President Omar al-Bashir. In March, al-Bashir scoffed at the ICC warrant issued for his arrest. The controversial arrest warrant had been sought by Moreno-Ocampo, who in July filed preliminary charges against Bashir alleging genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in the Darfur region in violation of Articles 6, 7, and 8 of the Rome Statute.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 17, 2009 (boomark / email).