From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Feb 09 2010 - 05:16:06 EST
Hague court dismisses charges against Sudan rebel
Tue Feb 9, 2010 6:24pm GMT
* Court says no proof Abu Garda responsible for attack
* Abu Garda denies charges, is not in custody
* JEM rebels urge Sudan president to appear before court
(Adds details, JEM comments, Sudan reaction)
By Aaron Gray-Block
AMSTERDAM, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court dismissed
charges against a Sudanese rebel leader on Monday, ruling against
allegations he helped orchestrate the killing of 12 African Union
peacekeepers in Darfur in 2007.
The war crimes court threw out the charges against Abu Garda after a
pre-trial chamber ruled he could not be held criminally responsible for
intentionally directing the attack.
"The chamber is not satisfied that there are substantial grounds to believe
that Mr Abu Garda can be held criminally responsible as either a direct or
indirect co-perpetrator," the court said in its ruling.
The first Sudanese rebel to appear before the court in The Hague, Abu Garda
denied all charges when he voluntarily attended a hearing in October to
determine if he should face trial over the attack on the AU peacekeeping
base.
He was one of three Sudanese rebels wanted in connection with the attack.
The prosecution plans to appeal the ruling, a spokeswoman said.
The ICC has also issued an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar
Hassan al-Bashir for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Khartoum said Monday's ruling showed the court was biased against the
Sudanese government and was seeking to undermine the peace process.
"This is what is expected from the ICC. The ICC is not hostile against the
rebels in Darfur but against the government," Sudanese information ministry
official Rabie Abdelati told Reuters.
Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) welcomed the ruling.
"The ICC is an independent court and is working according to international
standards of justice and we hope this will also encourage Bashir and others
to appear before the court," JEM spokesman Ahmed Adam told Reuters from
peace talks in Qatar.
EXECUTION KILLINGS
Hostilities between government and rebel groups in Darfur erupted in 2003
and Dafuris complain the AU peacekeepers, now a joint AU-U.N. force, have
been unable to protect them while being unable to end the hostilities.
The United Nations has estimated the humanitarian crisis has claimed 300,000
lives, but Khartoum says 9,000 people have died.
ICC deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said last year the AU peacekeepers were
murdered by combined rebel forces under Abu Garda's control, adding that
most of them were executed with gunshots at close range.
Bensouda had alleged that prior to the attack, Abu Garda's forces had just
split from JEM and wanted equipment, recognition as a rebel force and an
invitation to attend planned peace talks.
Abu Garda, chairman of the United Resistance Front, is not in custody and
would only have been detained if the court had decided there was enough
evidence for a trial. (Additional reporting by Ben Berkowitz in Amsterdam
and Opheera McDoom in Khartoum; editing by Robin Pomeroy)
C Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----