ICC prosecutor urges Sudan to hand over Darfur war crime suspects

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda urges Sudanese officials to transfer war crimes suspects, including ex-president, to the ICC.

Fatou Bensouda has given her last briefing as chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, lamenting that the tribunal has not yet brought justice to victims of atrocities in Sudan’s western Darfur region. But, she said, a new era in Sudan and the transfer of the first Darfur suspect to the court should give them hope. Bensouda said Darfur victims she spoke to last week had one message: Sudan’s transitional government should hand over three suspects sought by the court who are in its custody – former President Omar al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide; former defence minister Abdel Raheem Hussein, and former interior minister and governor Ahmad Harun. Bensouda, whose mandate ends June 15, said she has focused on Darfur since crimes being committed there were referred to the the court by the Security Council in 2005, when she was deputy prosecutor. But her recent visit to Sudan and Darfur was a first – a memorable trip that she said was “a strong reminder that we should focus on achieving justice for the victims and finding lasting peace for the people of Darfur.”