Sudan military: We won’t hand Al-Bashir over to ICC

Sudan’s military council says it will not hand over ousted President Omar Al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for trial.

Omer Zainal-Abdin, chairman of the political committee in Sudan’s transitional military council, spoke at a news conference in Khartoum, capital of the country, on Friday.

Amnesty International had asked the Sudanese military to hand Al-Bashir over to the ICC because he had been declared wanted for “some of the most odious human rights violations of our generation.”

Al-Bashir was ousted by the military on Thursday, following series of protests against him.

But Zainal-Abdin said Al-Bashir would be tried within Sudan.

“We, as a military council, and during our period, will not hand over the president for trial outside,” Zainal-Abdin said.

“These are our values and our morals. We will not hand over a Sudanese person to be tried outside, but we will try him. We have the judiciary and the law.”

The chairman also spoke of the military council’s readiness to consider shortening the transitional period, which was set for two years, “according to the security and political circumstances”.

He said the suspension of the constitution came as a result of the declaration of the state of emergency.

He, however, expressed the council’s readiness to lift the suspension if asked to.

He said the council would initiate dialogue, starting with political leaders and the protesters, to listen to people’s views in order to reach solutions.

Zainal-Abdin acknowledged the people’s right of demonstration but said the council would deal decisively with anyone who blocks a road or a bridge.

He said the task of the council was to maintain the security and stability of Sudan, while affirming that the military would not tolerate any chaos.