Ex-Sudan ruler Al Bashir’s fate hangs in balance as ICC official visits Sudan

Khartoum: The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor met Sudanese officials in a landmark visit that could determine the fate of ousted dictator Omar Al Bashir, who’s been indicted by the war crimes tribunal.

Fatou Bensouda and her delegation are holding discussions on ways to prosecute Sudanese wanted by the court, according to the Council of Ministers. She met Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari in Khartoum on Sunday, the state-run SUNA news agency reported.

Three proposals for dealing with Bashir’s case are extraditing him to the Hague-based ICC; sending a judge from the ICC to preside over a trial in Sudan; or establishing some kind of hybrid court that uses the two systems, according to two officials following the talks who requested anonymity because they’re not authorised to speak to the media.

Sudan’s information and foreign ministers didn’t immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment.

Al Bashir, charged for his alleged role in a brutal counter-insurgency campaign in the western region of Darfur, was overthrown by the army last year amid mass protests. The transitional government has suggested the 76-year-old, already jailed for corruption and on trial for the 1989 coup by which he seized power, could face the ICC’s charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

Sudan, an international pariah for much of Al Bashir’s three-decade rule, isn’t a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC so isn’t bound by its rulings. Other Sudanese indicted include former Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Mohamed Hussein and Ahmed Haroun, ex-minister of state for humanitarian affairs.