The International Criminal Court (ICC) said it was ready to put Sudanese officials accused of war crimes, including ousted president Omar al-Bashir on trial, at its headquarters in The Hague.
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked the Sudanese authorities to engage in discussions about the trials of the defendants to ensure justice for the victims of Darfur crimes, reported al-Ain news channel.
Sudan's Minister of Culture and Information and government spokesman Faisal Mohamed Salih identified three options to deal with the trials: Handing the suspects over to trial in The Hague, holding ICC trials in Khartoum, or through a hybrid court without specifying its location.
“One possibility is that the ICC will come here so they will be appearing before the ICC in Khartoum, or there will be a hybrid court maybe, or maybe they are going to transfer them to The Hague...That will be discussed with the ICC,” said Salih.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Salih said there are specialized committees concerned with the case, noting that the ICC and its Prosecutor's Office has all the required information.
ICC is ready to prosecute those involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity in The Hague, or in a courtroom in Sudan, on the condition that Khartoum pledges their appearance before the court, including Bashir, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
It also said that the ICC lauded Sudan's statements during which it announced its commitment to hold those accused of Darfur crimes accountable.
In 2009 and 2010, ICC issued arrest warrants for Bashir, on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Darfur war. The court also issued arrest warrants against three of Bashir's aides on the same charges.
Other former officials on trial include former defense minister Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein, former chair of National Congress Party, Ahmed Haroun, both in Kobar prison, and the militia leader Ali Kushayb, whose whereabouts are unknown.
An arrest warrant was issued against Kushayb, however, he escaped to a tribal region in South Darfur to avoid being apprehended, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. Several press reports claimed that the man had fled to a country in Central Africa.
During the Darfur war, over 300,000 were killed and more than 2 million displaced, according to UN reports.
Earlier, Bashir admitted the killing of 10,000 persons. To protect civilians in Darfur, the United Nations established the second-largest peacekeeping mission in its history, UNAMID.
