SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Lawyers question legal grounds of ERC arrests

11/2/2022: Radio Dabanga - Lawyers question legal grounds of ERC arrests

 

Radio Dabanga report that Sudanese lawyers questioned the validity of legal measures taken against members of the now-suspended Tamkeen committee after three committee members were arrested after the Ministry of Finance launched a complaint related to ‘breach of trust’.

 

The committee recently instructed the removal of dozens of employees from the Ministry of Finance that held ties with the former regime of Omar al-Bashir.

 

Sidgi Kaballo, a leader in Sudan's Communist Party explained that, since the coup, military authorities have “re-appointed a second wave of Islamist Movement members and others affiliated with the former regime in all service institutions, banks, and justice institutions,” effectively “re-empowering” them.

 

Al-Taher Abu Haja, the media advisor to military commander-in-chief Abdulfattah al-Burhan criticised attempts to frame the detentions as political.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Bloomberg - Sudan Blames Bashir Loyalists After Rioting Rocks Several Cities

11/2/2021: Bloomberg - Sudan Blames Bashir Loyalists After Rioting Rocks Several Cities, by Mohammed Alamin

 Bloomberg report that Sudanese authorities ordered the arrest of supporters of ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir accused of fueling a wave of unrest and looting that struck at least five states.

 A committee responsible for dismantling the remnants of al-Bashir’s regime said in a statement it had information members of his dissolved National Congress Party (NCP) organszed campaigns of theft and destruction during the upheaval.

The governor of Sinnar, a southeastern state, called on citizens to report the whereabouts and activities of NCP members. Authorities in recent days have declared states of emergency in Sinnar as well as North and East Darfur amid unrest seemingly spurred by economic grievances.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Fuel and commodity shortage a national crisis in Sudan

11/2/2020: Radio Dabanga - Fuel and commodity shortage a national crisis in Sudan

 Radio Dabanga reports that the shortage of fuel has become a national crisis that has crippled movement in several cities in Sudan.  Demonstrators have blocked major roads and bridges in Khartoum and North Kordofan in protests against the bread and fuel crisis.

The Sudanese energy minister has allocated four gallons for each vehicle for two days for fair distribution among the people and to ensure continuous supply until the crisis ends.

The minister appealed to the Sudanese people to cooperate with the ministry to implement the programme. He also urged the Resistance Committees to cooperate with the authority to put an end to the practice of smuggling fuel.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: BBC - Omar al-Bashir: Sudan agrees ex-president must face ICC

11/1/2020: BBC - Omar al-Bashir: Sudan agrees ex-president must face ICC

The BBC’s report on the Sudanese government’s agreement with Darfuri rebels that all those wanted by the ICC should be transferred to the court, features analysis from BBC Sudan’s Mohanad Hashim.

Hashim said there is “no guarantee that it will happen, [as] the generals may renege on the deal.”

Hashim added that “if it does happen, it is unlikely to be anytime soon,” citing that talks to end the conflict “still have a long way to go” and that the transfer of the wanted men - from both sides of the conflict - would have to be part of a broader peace deal.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Financial Times - Sudan to send al-Bashir for trial at The Hague

11/1/2020: Financial Times - Sudan to send al-Bashir for trial at The Hague, by David Pilling

The Financial Times’ report on the Sudanese government’s agreement with Darfuri rebels that all those wanted by the ICC should be transferred to the court, quotes from Michel Arditti, permanent secretary to Abdul Wahid al-Nour, a leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, a rebel group fought against Omar al-Bashir’s regime.

Arditti cautioned that some al-Bashir loyalists opposed extradition, although he said there were members of the sovereign council, including General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, the chairman, and Himedti, might be willing to “trade him in.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - Official: Sudan to hand over al-Bashir for genocide trial

11/1/2020: AP - Official: Sudan to hand over al-Bashir for genocide trial, by Samy Magdy

AP’s report on Sudan’s transitional government agreeing to hand over Omar al-Bashir to the ICC, features quotes from al-Bashir’s legal team and rebel leaders who have pressed for the decision.

Al-Bashir’s lawyer, Mohammed al-Hassan, warned that handing him over would have “dire political and security repercussions” for Sudan. He called for Abdelfattah al-Burhan to “keep his obligation that al-Bashir or any Sudanese won’t be handed over to the ICC.”

Rebel negotiator Ibrahim Mousa labelled the agreement a “big breakthrough.” Another rebel leader, al-Murzi Abuel-Kassem of the Justice and Equality Movement, hailed it as “an important day for the Sudanese people, particularly the displaced and refugees in the camps.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Sudan agrees ex-president Bashir should appear before ICC over Darfur

11/1/2020: Reuters - Sudan agrees ex-president Bashir should appear before ICC over Darfur, by Khalid Abdelaziz and Denis Dumo

Reuters reports on split public opinion in Khartoum following news that the transitional government agrees that Omar al-Bashir should be sent to face the ICC.

A young woman named Reem said: “He should go straight to the criminal court because want peace in our country by any means…if the (Darfur) movements want him to go, no problem. He’s already a war criminal in their view.”

However, another protester, Mowafeq Othman, said handing al-Bashir over to the ICC would undermine Sudan’s courts. “Don’t hand him over, this would mean Sudan’s judiciary is weak - so long as he is a Sudanese citizen, regardless of anything else, he should be tried here,” he said.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Guardian - Sudan signals it may send former dictator Omar al-Bashir to ICC

11/1/2020: Guardian - Sudan signals it may send former dictator Omar al-Bashir to ICC, by Jason Burke and Zeinab Mohammed Salih

The Guardian quotes Darfuri refugees, following reports that the Sudanese government has suggested it is prepared to hand over former dictator Omar al-Bashir to the ICC.

Abdulrahman Deiges, a refugee in Norway forced from his home by the Darfur conflict, said he cried when he heard the news.

Dr Manisk Hussein, a doctor who fled with her family after their Darfur home was bombed by government forces, said it was “amazing” that Bashir might appear at The Hague.

She said, however, that any trial of Bashir would be meaningless unless others responsible for atrocities went unpunished.

The decision comes a boost for the ICC, which has struggled to secure convictions of high-profile criminals in recent years. Jens David Ohlin, an expert on international criminal law at Cornell University, said “although the ICC has generated important legal precedents, it has had few important cases brought to verdict.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – Sudan considering handing over al-Bashir to ICC to face war crime charges

11/1/2020: Multiple sources – Sudan considering handing over al-Bashir to ICC to face war crime charges

Sudan’s government and rebel groups in Darfur agreed that that all those wanted by the International Criminal Court should appear before the tribunal, a list that includes ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

Al-Bashir, and four others, is accused of serious crimes perpetrated during the Darfur conflict between 2003 and 2008, which led to the deaths of 300,000.

He faces five counts of crimes against humanity for murder, forcible transfer, extermination, torture and rape; two counts of war crimes for attacks against civilians; and three counts of genocide for killings and creating conditions meant to bring about the destruction of the targeted group.

The other four wanted by the ICC are: Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein, interior and defence minister during much of the Darfur conflict, Ahmed Haroun, a senior security chief at the time, as well as militia leaders Ali Kushayb and Abduallah Banda.