Sudan to Extradite Ousted President Omar Al-Bashir to International Criminal Court

The former president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, was deposed and imprisoned in 2019 after a wave of devastating protests as well as accusations of illegally stealing millions in cash. The International Criminal Court (ICC) brought charges of genocide and other crimes against humanity that reportedly took place during the Sudanese civil war.

Authorities in Sudan will extradite the former country’s president, Omar al-Bashir, and two other officials accused of war crimes and genocide, to face an ICC trial, according to a statement from the Sudanese Foreign Ministry issued on Wednesday.

Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan from 1989 to 2019, is suspected of personally giving the orders to violently suppress riots in the Darfur province and kill the peaceful population of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, between 2003 and 2008 during the civil war.

“The Cabinet of Ministers has decided to hand over the wanted ICC officials,” said Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi, cited by Sky News Arabia.

Al-Bashir’s attorney, Abu Bakr al-Jaali, declared to CNN on Wednesday that the extradition decision "reveals a conspiracy that has been hatched, and if the extradition step is taken, it will be a disaster for Sudan."

Omar al-Bashir was ousted in April 2019 after a series of violent conflicts, started in 2003. The ICC issued two arrest warrants for the Sudanese president in 2009 and 2010 after government forces were reportedly involved in mass killings and crimes against humanity.

In December 2019, al-Bashir, who at that time was 75 years old, was sentenced to two years in prison under additional charges of corruption and illegitimate possession of foreign currency.

Authorities confiscated an estimated €6.9 million ($8 million), as well as $351,700 and about 5.7 million Sudanese pounds (almost $13,000) from the former head of government. Later, the Sudanese Anti-Corruption Commission confiscated all assets of the former president, and those close to him, a sum said to approach $4 billion.