JURIST - Paper Chase: Sudan president says no extradition of Darfur war crimes suspects

[JURIST] Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir [BBC profile] has again said that his country refuses to extradite [JURIST report] any Sudanese citizens for prosecution by the International Criminal Court [official website]. In remarks made during this weekend's celebration of the golden jubilee of the Sudanese Judiciary, al-Bashir said that only Sudan had jurisdiction over war crimes suspects in cases stemming from the Darfur [JURIST news archive] conflict. A year ago, Sudan's vice president made a similar refusal [JURIST report] to turn over genocide suspects to foreign courts, and al-Bashir said Saturday that he is confident that Sudan has the judicial machinery to properly try and allow for the defense of accused war criminals.

The UN Security Council [official website] last March authorized the ICC [JURIST report] to investigate and prosecute allegations of genocide in Darfur. Thus far, the ICC has a list of 51 suspected war criminals, some of whom are government officials. International pressure for Sudan to end the Darfur conflict, which has resulted in the death and displacement of tens of thousands of civilians, is increasing. Last week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reaffirmed the US commitment to ending genocide in Darfur [JURIST report]. Xinhua has more. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.

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