Sudan to hand over deposed President Al Bashir to The Hague
Sudan will hand over ex-president Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face genocide and war crimes charges.
Bashir stands accused of crimes following a conflict in Darfur in 2003 in which about half a million people are reported to have been killed.
Authorities in Sudan now say the former president, and others charged in absentia before the ICC, should appear before the court.
“Justice cannot be achieved if we don’t heal the wounds. We are doing what the Sudanese people have asked us to do,” said Mohammed Hassan, a spokesman for the Sudanese government.
The Sudan government has been under pressure to hand over Bashir during ongoing negotiations with rebels in Darfur aimed at bringing formulating peace.
Unlike Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy who appeared before the ICC while in power, Bashir consistently ignored calls to face charges at the Hague based court while in power.
President Kenyatta and his deputy were later acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence.
But the tide has changed since the 76-year-old was overthrown by a civil uprising two years ago and later on sentenced to two years in detention for corruption charges, including receiving illegal gifts and possessing foreign currency.