Judge says Uganda should have arrested Sudan’s al-Bashir
Posted December 19, 2019 12:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
KAMPALA, Uganda — A Ugandan judge has ruled that the government should have arrested former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir when he visited while indicted by the International Criminal Court.
The judge said Uganda, as a member of the statute that created the Hague-based court, was obligated to arrest al-Bashir when he visited the country in 2016 and 2017 even though he came at the invitation of President Yoweri Museveni’s government.
The ICC wants al-Bashir to stand trial for alleged atrocities committed in Sudan’s Darfur region. Al-Bashir has been in custody in Sudan since April, when that country’s military deposed him following months of protests.
The Ugandan judge announced his decision Thursday in response to a legal case brought by the Uganda Victims Foundation, an activist group.
Nicholas Opiyo, a lawyer who helped to bring the case to court, told reporters Thursday that the ruling affirmed that Uganda’s obligations under international justice “are not entered in vain.”
Associated Press, The Associated Press
