Ex-President handed over to ICC for prosecution

Ex-President handed over to ICC for prosecution

Sudan will hand longtime leader Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) along with other officials wanted over the Darfur conflict, Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi said on Wednesday.

The “cabinet decided to hand over wanted officials to the ICC,” Mahdi was quoted as saying by state media.

Bashir, who ruled Sudan with an for three decades before being deposed amid popular protests in 2019, faces charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

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The United Nations (UN) says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in the conflict, which erupted in the vast western region in 2003.

Bashir, 77, has been wanted by the ICC since 2009, when it issued a warrant for his arrest.

The decision to hand him over came during a visit to Sudan by ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan.

Sudan has been led since August 2019 by a transitional civilian-military administration that has vowed to bring justice to victims of alleged crimes committed under Bashir.