Khartoum - Sudan could send former leader
Omar al-Bashir and other suspects to The Hague for trial before
the International Criminal Court, but any decision would need
approval from military and civilian rulers, the information
minister said on Monday.
Sudanese authorities said last week that they had agreed for
Bashir and three other suspects to appear before the ICC,
without giving details of how this could happen.
"One possibility is that the ICC will come here so they will
be appearing before the ICC in Khartoum, or there will be a
hybrid court maybe, or maybe they are going to transfer them to
The Hague...That will be discussed with the ICC," Information
Minister Faisal Salih told Reuters.
Sudan's offer to cooperate with the ICC marks an important
step in rebuilding relations with the international community
after three decades during which the country was isolated and
sanctioned for its links with Islamist militants and the
violence in Darfur.
Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum since he was toppled
after mass protests last year, is wanted by the ICC for alleged
war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in Sudan's
troubled Darfur region.
Bashir's lawyer has said the ex-president refused any
dealings with the ICC because it was a "political court".
The different options for the ICC proceedings would be
discussed with an ICC delegation that was expected to visit
Khartoum, Salih said.
He said he thought any decision would need approval by
Sudan's High Peace Council, which includes the military-led
Sovereign Council, senior cabinet members, and representatives
of political groups that opposed Bashir.
The High Peace Council had agreed to the appearance of the
suspects before the ICC before its decision was announced last
week at peace talks in Juba, South Sudan, Salih said.
The transitional government is also trying to get Sudan
removed from a list of countries the United States considers
state sponsors of terrorism. Sudan was placed on the list in
1993.
Though US sanctions on Sudan were lifted in 2017, the
listing has hampered commercial transactions and international
payments and prevents Sudan from negotiating a settlement over
its debt and thereby accessing sorely needed funds from
international financial institutions.
One of the conditions for removing Sudan from the list was
offering compensation for the victims of the October 2000
bombing of the USS Cole warship. Sudan said last week it had
agreed to do that.
Another condition is paying compensation to the families of
victims killed in attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania in 1998.
"The minister of justice thinks that in a very short time we
are going to have an agreement with those families," Salih said.
Other outstanding issues being discussed with the United
States include reform of the security sector, making progress in
the peace process in Juba with rebel factions from Darfur and
other regions, and Sudan's relationship with North Korea.
"There is some progress being made on this, but we are still
waiting for a positive response from the Americans," Salih said.