ICC denies arrest warrant for Bashir

There is no arrest warrant for Omar al Bashir. The International Criminal Court (ICC) denies reports that it will indict the Sudanese president for genocide in Darfur. Is it possible the judges ordered Bashir's arrest in secret?

he New York Times reported on Wednesday that the ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Bashir, as requested last July by the chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo. The paper was informed by UN diplomats and ICC officials.

However, the ICC denies that any indictment has been issued, saying that "no decision has yet been taken by the judges."

Ocampo asked the court's judges to indict Bashir for orchestrating a campaign of genocide in Sudan's western Darfur region since 2003. He accuses the Sudanese president of systematically killing ethnic Africans, raping women and burning down villages.

Sealed warrant?
A team of ICC judges has to consider Ocampo's request and review the evidence. If they think he has a case, they can decide to order the arrest of Bashir.

Normally such a ruling is to be made public. However, the judges can also charge war crimes suspects behind closed doors to improve chances of capture before they go into hiding or to protect witnesses and victims on the ground.

It might be the case now that the judges have decided to issue a so-called "arrest warrant under seal" for Bashir, but that it was leaked.

In an earlier case, five Ugandan LRA rebel leaders were at first indicted secretly to protect vulnerable groups from retaliation. But since the court unsealed the indictments - after court officials could not keep it secret - the rebels are on the run. They are still committing atrocities.

In the case of former Congolese Vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, the indictment was only unsealed after he was arrested in Belgium. When Ocampo indicted Congolese warlords he followed the same scheme. One of them, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, is now in the dock facing charges of using child soldiers.

In Sudan's case, the prosecutor chose a different scheme. Ocampo has made no secret of his investigations in Darfur and has openly indicted Ahmed Harun, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, and Janjaweed commander Ali Kushayb in 2007.

Khartoum, which does not recognise the ICC, has simply refused to send the two suspects to The Hague. But since Ocampo openly accused the sitting president of genocide, the court has entered the political arena and has caused much controversy.

Destablising effect
Khartoum says the accusations do not deserve "the ink with which they were written." Since Ocampo announced that he wants Bashir in court, Khartoum has been saying that the ICC could destabilise the entire region, worsen the conflict in Darfur and threaten the peace deal between north Sudan and the semi-autonomous south.

The biggest issue at stake now is retaliation by Khartoum against the Darfur population, aid agencies and UN staff. The ICC has to act with great care. An abrupt public decision by the ICC judges could put all those at immediate risk. In the present situation, a sealed arrest warrant would hardly make a difference since it would already be a public secret.

China, the African Union and the Arab League are backing Bashir. Their diplomats have been trying to build support for a one-year postponement of the court's action, which is within the power of the UN Security Council.