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ICC issues arrest warrant for Sudan's president
The International Criminal Court issued a warrant Wednesday for the arrest Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The warrant is the first issued against a sitting head of state by the Hague-based court, which stopped short of including a count of genocide over a conflict that United Nations officials say has killed as many as 300,000 people since 2003. The court, which was set up in 2002, indicted the 65-year-old Bashir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which include murder, rape and torture. The three-judge panel said it had insufficient grounds for genocide. "We've got to work now to implement the decision of the judges" chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told Al Arabiya TV in an exclusive interview as the decision was being read by the ICC court. "I think this changes everything." The ICC registrar said Bashir's position as a sitting head of state did not grant him any immunity. Posted by: Fred 2009-03-05 |
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