Sun 18 October 2020:
A delegation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is meeting with officials in Sudan to discuss the arrest warrants currently in place in regards to the Darfur conflict.
Chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and her team arrive in Sudan on Saturday and plan to discuss “ways of cooperation between the International Criminal Court and Sudan” concerning the people subject to the court’s warrants during the trip that lasts through Wednesday.
Al-Bashir, who was being held in jail in Khartoum after being removed by the military in April last year following months-long protests against his rule, is wanted by the ICC on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, in a conflict that began in 2003 and killed an estimated 300,000 people.
Led by prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, the delegation arriving on Saturday “will discuss cooperation between the International Criminal Court and Sudan regarding the accused, against whom the court has issued arrest warrants”, a statement from the office of Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said.
The delegation would meet senior Sudanese officials during its stay in the country, which will last through October 21.
A spokesman from the ICC prosecutor’s office confirmed to the AFP news agency that “Bensouda and a delegation from her office will be in Khartoum for the next few days to discuss ICC-Sudan cooperation”.
The ICC accused al-Bashir in 2009 and 2010 of masterminding atrocities in his campaign to crush a revolt in the Darfur region, charges he has previously denied.
