Omar al-Bashir Left South Africa Despite Court Order

Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, who is under prosecution by the International Criminal Court, was instructed to wait for the judges' decision regarding his arrest but left South Africa. Al-Bashir traveled to Johannesburg to attend the African Union summit. Since an arrest warrant had been issued for him by the ICC, local judges were asked to take action to arrest him, but while the judges' session was ongoing, the Sudanese president exited South Africa. The ICC expressed disappointment over the failure to arrest al-Bashir. He is under international prosecution for crimes against humanity in Darfur. According to AFP, while South African judges were reviewing the request for al-Bashir's immediate arrest, he made his way to the Waterkloof military base in the outskirts of Pretoria and flew out of the country. James Stewart, the Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC, stated on June 15 that they were very disappointed with the inaction in South Africa. 'Our position has always been firm that South Africa had a legal duty to arrest him (al-Bashir),' he said. Dunstan Mlambo, one of the judges reviewing the arrest warrant for al-Bashir in South Africa, criticized the government after the news broke that the Sudanese president had left the country, stating that government officials should have prevented al-Bashir's departure. Mlambo said, 'The inaction and negligence of government officials in arresting al-Bashir contradicts the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.' The swift escape of the Sudanese president on the last day of the African Union summit has angered human rights groups. Human Rights Watch issued a statement saying, 'By allowing this shameful flight, the South African government has not only violated its responsibilities under international law but has also disregarded the rights of its own courts.' The statement continued, 'While al-Bashir left South Africa today, he also took with him the hopes of thousands of victims of mass grave crimes for justice.' South Africa is a member state committed to the ICC. During the African Union summit, al-Bashir was seen alongside South African President Jacob Zuma and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, taking a commemorative photo. Mugabe had urged African countries that are ICC members to withdraw from the institution. Yasser Yusuf, Sudan's Minister of Information, told AFP that al-Bashir's flight to Khartoum was underway and that upon arrival at the airport, the president would address the crowds that had come to welcome him. The report indicated that Sudanese officials had been assured that there would be no issues for al-Bashir during this trip. According to the ICC prosecution case, during the 2003 crisis in Darfur, 300,000 people were killed and more than 2.5 million were displaced, according to UN statistics. Sudan has rejected these figures, claiming that only 10,000 people were killed during the conflicts. The ICC had requested the South African government to ensure the arrest of the 71-year-old al-Bashir. Al-Bashir came to power during the Islamist coup in 1989.