The International Criminal Court’s first major hearings in the case of Ali Kosheib on May 24, 2021, are an important step toward justice for grave crimes committed in Darfur, Sudan, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch said that the absence of four other top suspects, including former president Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, spotlights the need for Sudanese authorities to transfer them to the ICC without further delay.
“Progress in Kosheib’s case is important to justice for victims of atrocities committed across Darfur and their families who were terrorized by the Janjaweed militia,” said Elise Keppler, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch.
Kosheib voluntarily surrendered in the Central African Republic, and on June 9, 2020, the ICC announcedd he was in court custody. The ICC then made public a second arrest warrantt that was issued in 2018, which adds three additional charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for murder and inhumane acts committed in the village of Deleig and surrounding areas of Darfur in March 2004.
The remaining ICC suspects face charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed in Darfur. In addition to al-Bashir, they are Ahmed Haroun, former state minister for humanitarian affairs and former governor of Southern Kordofan state; Abdulraheem Mohammed Hussein, the former defense minister; and Abdallah Banda Abakaer, leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement in Darfur. All except for Banda are in Sudanese custody.