Originally published on the CGS blog on March 22, 2012.
Last Friday, activists organized in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington D.C. to protest the regime of Omar Al-Bashir. After crossing too far onto Embassy property several of the protestors, including George Clooney, Martin Luther King Junior III, and Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Al Green (D-TX), John Olver (D-MA), and Jim Moran (D-VA) were arrested. The arrests helped the protest gain international and national media attention.
Omar Al-Bashir is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court. He is charged with committing war crimes during the conflict in Darfur. When factions within Sudan began to rise up against government oppression, Bashir is accused of orchestrating a mass genocide. While there is an arrest warrant out for him, Bashir has been traveling around Africa without issue.
Last week police officers in Mauritania arrested Abdullah al-Senussi, Muammar Gaddafi’s chief intelligence officer. It was decided by Mauritanian officials that Senussi will be extradited back to Libya. While his extradition date was originally scheduled for today, it has been put off. Libyan officials are still confident that the extradition will happen relatively soon.
Senussi is wanted by Libya, France, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) Click here to read blog posts on bringing Libyan officials to justice at the ICC. The government of Libya holds Senussi accountable for the mass killing of prisoners in a Tripoli prison, among many other crimes. It has been speculated that the Libyan government may not be equipped to investigate Senussi’s crimes and give him a fair trial. Senussi was already tried in absentia in France for a 1989 terrorist attack of a French airliner. The ICC has also thrown their hat into the ring, hoping to bring charges against Senussi for crimes against humanity. Mauritania is not a state party to the ICC, but a U.N. Resolution as mandated that all U.N. members work with the ICC in bringing Senussi to justice.
The International Criminal Court proved its ability to conduct fair trials and met out justice for victims of grave crimes when last week it convicted Thomas Lubanga of war crimes for using child soldiers in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Citizens for Global Solutions will continue to advocate that Bashir and Senussi are brought to justice at the International Criminal Court.
