Sudanese war criminal Ali Kushayb is now in custody
The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced today that a prominent Sudanese regime militia leader has surrendered to authorities in the Central African Republic. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd–Al-Rahman, aka Ali Kushayb, is now in the court’s custody.
Prosecutors say Ali Kushayb was a key commander of the pro-regime Popular Defense Forces and Janjaweed militias that led attacks on Darfuri towns and villages between 2003-2004. The crisis in Darfur has seen hundreds of thousands of people killed and driven more than two million from their homes. From the ICC:
Mr. Kushayb is perceived to be the mediator between the leaders of the Janjaweed militia in Wadi Salih and the Government of Sudan. He is also alleged to have enlisted fighters, armed, funded and provided food and other supplies to the Janjaweed militia under his command, thereby intentionally contributing to the above-mentioned crimes. Ali Kushayb is alleged to have personally participated in some of the attacks against civilians namely in the towns of Kodoom, Bindist, Mukjar and Arawala between August 2003 and March 2004, where the killing of civilians, rape, torture and other cruel treatments occurred, therefore he allegedly committed, jointly with others, the above-mentioned crimes.
The warrant of arrest delivered on 27 April 2007 against Ali Kushayb lists 50 counts on the basis of his individual criminal responsibility including:
- Twenty-two counts of crimes against humanity (murder; deportation or forcible transfer of population; imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; torture ; persecution; rape; inhumane acts of inflicting serious bodily injury and suffering );
- Twenty-eight counts of war crimes (murder, violence to life and person; outrage upon personal dignity in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population; pillaging; rape; destroying or seizing the property).
In February, Ali Kushayb and several of his bodyguards were spotted fleeing toward the remote border area of Sudan and Central African Republic. He was last seen in Um Dafuq, an isolated area that Sudanese regime forces smuggle weapons, people, and illicit goods through. There was a fear that Ali Kushayb was going to use his extensive local and regional contacts to disappear into the vast Sahel.
According to a CAR government official, Ali Kushayb was arrested in the northern town of Birao this morning and was put on a plane bound for The Hague. The ICC is now preparing to enter a pre-trial phase.
Sudan’s new transitional government has failed to turn over other Sudanese war criminals who have been indicted by the ICC to the court. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for overthrown dictator Omar al-Bashir, former minister Ahmed Haroun, and former defense minister Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein. All three are in custody of the transitional government.
In the background of everything you just read is Sudan’s next generation of leaders. Children living in the Nuba Mountains and nearby Yida Refugee Camp have grown up only knowing war. Most do not have access to a quality classroom. Their education will be what helps carry Sudan’s revolution forwards in the decades ahead.
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