Darfur rebels at ICC to assert that AU troops were legitimate targets
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May 18, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – The two rebel figures accused of leading
an deadly attack on African Union peacekeepers in Darfur more than
three years ago plan to tell judges at the International Criminal
Court (ICC) that what they did was not unlawful, according to court
documents.
JPEG - 33.4 kb
Karim Khan (L), the lawyer for Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain (C) and
Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus (R), both suspected of having committed war
crimes in Darfur, speaks at the International Criminal Court in The
Hague June 17, 2010 (Reuters)
Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus each
face three counts of violence to life in the form of murder, war crime
of attacking a peacekeeping mission and pillaging.
Last March, the ICC judges ruled that there were "substantial grounds"
to believe that the two men were responsible for the attack and
ordered them to stand trial for war crimes following a quick
confirmation of charges hearing in December.
The Defense lawyer of Banda and Jerbo have made a joint filing with
the prosecutors prior to the confirmation hearing stating that his
clients will not contest the charges at this stage. The motion have
helped reduce the time dedicated to the confirmation of charges
hearing.
On Monday a similar filing was made in preparation for the trial that
is scheduled to take place sometime this year.
"The Parties inform the Chamber that they have reached an agreement
that the accused persons will contest only the specific issues listed
below at their trial......whether the attack on the MGS Haskanita on
29 September 2007 was unlawful; If the attack is deemed unlawful,
whether the Accused persons were aware of the factual circumstances
that established the unlawful nature of the attack; Whether AMIS was a
peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United
Nations,".
Both sides agreed that should the prosecution convince the chamber at
the trial of its position on these issues then Banda and Jerbo "will
plead guilty to the charges preferred against them without prejudice
to their right to appeal".
"The agreement reached by the Parties will significantly shorten the
trial proceedings by focusing the trial only on those issues that are
contested between the Parties. This will promote an efficient and cost
effective trial whilst preserving the rights of victims to participate
in the proceedings and protecting the rights of the Accused persons to
a fair and expeditious trial".
If the judges approve the stipulation it will mark the first time
since the establishment of the ICC that suspects admit involvement in
a crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the court.
It will also have the potential of being the fastest case in the
history of the ICC to date. The Hague tribunal has been criticized for
not being unable hand a single conviction to date since it was
founded.
The two men allegedly commanded a 1,000-strong rebel force in the
Sept. 29, 2007 attack, on the African Mission in Sudan (AMIS) base in
Haskanita in North Darfur. They looted the camp of 17 vehicles,
refrigerators, computers, mobile phones, ammunition and money.
The attack killed twelve soldiers and severely injured eight others
who were mainly from Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Botswana. It was the
deadliest single attack on the peacekeepers since they began their
mission in late 2004.
Banda was a senior military commander in Darfur’s rebel Justice and
Equality Movement (JEM) before he was dismissed during a bitter split
among the movement’s governing elite in mid-2007. He went on to form a
rival faction, the JEM Collective Leadership, with former JEM vice
president Bahar Idriss Abu Garda. The latter appeared voluntarily
before the ICC to answer charges relating to the same attack but the
court declined to pursue those charges in February citing insufficient
evidence to prove his criminal responsibility.
Jerbo on the other hand was a leading figure in the Sudan Liberation
Movement (SLM)-Unity faction before being removed later for unknown
reasons.
The Hague-based court, established in 2002 to try those responsible
for war crimes and genocide, has also issued an arrest warrant for
Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir, who has snubbed the court
and denied the allegations as part of a Western conspiracy against his
government.
The ICC is investigating both sides of the Darfur conflict. In
addition to the three cases involving Banda and Jerbo, Garda and
Bashir, it is also seeking the arrest of two government figures namely
South Kordofan governor Ahmed Haroun and militia leader Ali Kushayb
for 51 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
(ST)
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