Amsterdam - Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, 46, appeared before
the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Monday after
he voluntarily turned himself in to face three war crimes charges.
Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has charged the Sudanese rebel
leader with three counts of war crimes, among others relating to an
attack against the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in 2007 that
left 12 people dead.
Abu Garda was the first charged by the ICC to report himself
voluntarily to the court in The Hague. On Monday he appeared before
Italian judge Cuno Tarfusser.
According to the United Nations, the war in the West-Sudanese
region of Darfur has cost at least 300,000 lives.
Arab militias, which Moreno Ocampo claims are supported by the
government in Khartoum, are fighting rebels, killing both soldiers
and civilians.
Abu Garda would be one of the commanders of the Justice and
Equality Movement (JEM), one of the most important militias.
Asked about his profession by the court on Monday, Abu Garda
described himself as a 'political commander.'
A confirmation hearing was set for October 12, to determine
whether or not there are substantial grounds to believe that he
committed the crimes charged.
The judges will then decide whether the evidence is enough to
start a trial.
The court gave Abu Garda permission to leave the Netherlands until
October's hearing.
Abu Garda arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday when he turned
himself in voluntarily.
His arrival in The Hague follows a closed hearing earlier in May
during which the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber said there were reasonable
grounds to believe he was guilty of murder and intentionally
directing attacks against personnel, material and property of the
AMIS peacekeeping mission and pillaging.
Abu Garda, a member of the Sudanese Zaghawa tribe, was the first
of four suspects charged by the ICC to voluntarily turn himself in to
the court.
Unlike three other suspects, including Sudanese President Omar
al-Bashir, the court had not issued a warrant for Abu Garda's arrest.
Because he had stated his willingness to cooperate, the court
merely summoned him.
Court Registrar Silvana Arbia said 'the voluntary appearance of
Abu Garda might serve to encourage other suspects currently at large
to come before the court to be heard with all guarantees of a fair
trial.'
ICC-chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said in a statement he
'welcomed' the fact Abu Garda had voluntarily reported to the court.
He also said cooperation by all parties to the conflict with the
ICC, as mandated by UN resolutions, is of critical importance.'
The alleged attack occurred on September 29, 2007 against the
African peacekeeping mission stationed at the Military Group Site
Haskanita in Umm Kadada, North Darfur.
According to the ICC prosecutor, some 1,000 troops of the rebel
Justice and Equality Movement allegedly killed twelve, and severely
wounded eight, AMIS soldiers. They also destroyed AMIS material and
property.
Moreno Ocampo also said 'the attack on African Union peacekeepers
in Haskanita was an attack on millions of civilians they had come to
protect; we will prosecute those allegedly responsible'
Abu Garda is the fourth suspect in the Darfur conflict to be tried
at the ICC, but the first to appear before the court. The other
suspects, Ahmad Muhammad Harun, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman and
Al Bashir, remain at large.
USA
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