Indicted Sudan minister calls ICC’s bluff
Posted by African Press International on September 17, 2007
Khartoum (Sudan) Sudan’s Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Mohamed Haroun accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of war crimes said on Monday that he is not afraid of travelling abroad despite a warrant of arrest having been issued against him.
Haroun told APA that he is not concerned about the International Police (INTERPOL) red notices distributed worldwide asking for his arrest.
However, he said that he has not travelled since the arrest warrant was issued, saying that as a government official “travelling is governed by the benefits sought from such a trip”.
Haroun was in Jordan, the only Arab country that is party to the ICC, for medical treatment when the ICC Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced charges against him in late February. The Sudanese minister returned immediately to Khartoum that day.
The INTERPOL circulated a notice for the arrest of Haroun last June. The ICC has an agreement with INTERPOL enabling it to use its telecommunications network and databases.
The ICC issued their first arrest warrants for suspects accused of war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region in early May. The warrants were issued for Haroun and militia commander Ali Mohamed Ali Abdelrahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, but Sudan refused to hand over the two suspects.
Haroun said the involvement of the ICC in Darfur is political, not judicial, adding that he ICC prosecutor can do nothing “but talk to the press”.
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