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South African Judge Orders Sudan's President Detained

by VOA News June 14, 2015

A South African judge has ordered authorities to prevent Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir from leaving the country after the International Criminal Court called for him to be arrested at an African Union summit there.

'President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan is prohibited from leaving the Republic of South Africa until the final order is made in this application,' Judge Hans Fabricius said in his ruling.

Sudan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Ismail said Bashir would return home after the main session of the summit.

Despite calls for his arrest, Bashir Al-Bashir took part in a group photo with other African leaders at the summit in Johannesburg on Sunday.

In a message posted to Twitter, South Africa's ruling African National Congress party said it was calling upon the government to challenge the order against Bashir. It says immunity was granted to all participants of the summit as part of the international norms for countries hosting such gatherings.

ICC arrest warrants

The ICC says Bashir has two outstanding arrest warrants. He has been charged with war crimes and genocide for sending the army and backing Arab militias to put down an armed uprising in the Darfur conflict in 2003.

The United Nations says fighting in the impoverished region has killed 300,000 people and created more than 2 million refugees. Most of the victims were civilians.

ICC President Sidiki Kaba said in a statement that South Africa, which 'has always contributed to the strengthening of the Court,' should 'spare no effort in ensuring the execution of the arrest warrants.'

South Africa's dilemma

Elise Keppler, the associate director of Human Rights Watch's International Justice Program said Sunday South Africa 'should not flout its international obligations and stain [its] credibility on justice' by failing to arrest President Bashir.

'How many thousands of Africans can you kill before you're not welcome at [the] African Union summit?' Andrew Stroehlein, the European media director of Human Rights Watch said on Twitter Sunday

Bashir was sworn in earlier this month for another five-year presidential term.

He promised to fight corruption, improve the economy and bring relations with the West back to what he calls their 'natural state.'

He also vowed to bring peace to three separate regions where armed groups are fighting to topple his government -- Blue Nile, Darfur and Kordofan. The president repeated his offer of total amnesty to any armed rebel who joins peace talks.

Bashir has ruled Sudan for 25 years. The country has not only been battered by armed rebellion, but by international sanctions and the loss of oil revenue when South Sudan gained independence.