Omar al-Bashir
President of Sudan (1993-2019), de facto leader of the country since 1989
What are we accused of: Omar al-Bashir was the first sitting head of state to be the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the ICC in 2009. Al-Bashir was charged with crimes against humanity (individual and mass, torture, deportation, rape), as well as war crimes (attacks against civilians). These accusations relate to the conflict that began in 2003 in Darfur, a region in western Sudan. According to prosecutors, al-Bashir deliberately sought to destroy the non-Arab tribes who lived there (although he was not charged with genocide).
How the pursuit is organized: Sudan (like Russia, as well as many other countries, including the United States and China) did not sign the Rome Statute, on the basis of which the ICC operates, and immediately refused to consider the extradition of the president of the country to the court. The position of the Sudanese authorities was supported by international organizations, including the country – the League of Arab States and the African Union. The ICC, in particular, has been accused of “double standards” and “racism”. Since the warrant was issued, al-Bashir has traveled abroad many times, notably to China and Russia, where encounter with Vladimir Putin. Moreover, the President of Sudan has visited the countries which, unlike China and the Russian Federation, have ratified the Rome Statute – but he has not been arrested there either.
In 2019 al-Bashir was knocked down following a military coup, and two years later, the country’s new authorities promised transfer him and other war crimes suspects to the ICC. For now, however, al-Bashir remains under arrest in Sudan.