Sudan23 July, 20263 min read
ICC Terminates War Crimes Case Against Sudan’s Abdallah Banda Over 2007 Darfur Attack
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ICC terminates proceedings against Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and vacates his arrest warrant. War crimes charges over the 2007 attack that killed 12 AU peacekeepers are withdrawn.
ICC ends Banda case
The International Criminal Court formally ended its war crimes case against Sudanese national and former Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) commander Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain, terminating proceedings that had been pending for more than a decade over an alleged 2007 attack on African Union peacekeepers in Sudan’s Darfur region. The ICC said the decision came after ICC judges approved the prosecution’s request to withdraw the charges last week, cancelling an arrest warrant issued against Abdallah in 2014. The case stemmed from an alleged attack on the African Union Mission in Sudan’s peacekeeping base in Haskanita, North Darfur, on September 29, 2007, where prosecutors alleged war crimes including murder or attempted murder, intentionally directing attacks against peacekeeping personnel and pillaging.
The ICC said it was not an acquittal and that the case could be brought again in the future if prosecutors pursue the same or similar allegations against him, while the court also said forcing the trial to proceed would undermine fairness. In a statement, the ICC said, “Proceeding to trial in this particular case, with a Prosecutor who refuses to present the case despite evidentiary and legal obligations to do so, would be in contravention of the Chamber’s ultimate obligation to ensure a fair and efficient trial,” as the court brought the long-running matter to a close.
Prosecutors cite collapse
During a public status conference at the Hague on Tuesday, senior legal coordinator Cara Pronk-Jordan told Trial Chamber IV that prosecutors had concluded there were “no longer substantial grounds” to secure a conviction against the rebel leader.
Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said, “We do not take this decision lightly. We acknowledge the impact it will have on the victims who have been waiting for years for justice,” as the ICC withdrew the war crimes prosecution.
The case centered on an alleged assault on the Haskanita Military Group Site in North Darfur on September 29, 2007, which the ICC-related reporting described as killing 12 AU peacekeepers and severely injuring eight others.
The ICC-related reporting said the prosecution’s evidence had degraded after nearly fifteen years, citing witness attrition and the inability to access Sudanese territory, and it also pointed to credibility issues regarding remaining testimonies.
The ICC-related reporting also described the attack as an assault by approximately 1,000 rebel troops armed with anti-aircraft guns and rocket-propelled grenades, targeting a camp housing the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS).
Without prejudice, future cases
The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber IV decided to terminate proceedings against Abdullah Banda Abkar Nourin and quash the arrest warrant issued against him, while also stating that the termination was “without prejudice” to any later case over the same or similar facts. In its statement, the court said, “Pre-Trial Chamber IV has terminated the proceedings against Abdullah Banda Abkar Nourin, thereby quashing the arrest warrant issued against him,” and it also stressed that continuing to prosecute in the face of a prosecutor who refused to present the case would be contrary to the chamber’s obligation to ensure a fair and effective trial. The ICC-related reporting tied the charges to war crimes allegedly committed during an attack by armed groups against African Union peacekeepers stationed in the Haskanita area of Umm Kadada locality in North Darfur on September 29, 2007, where the attack killed 12 soldiers and wounded eight others.
“Pre-Trial Chamber IV has terminated the proceedings against Abdullah Banda Abkar Nourin, thereby quashing the arrest warrant issued against him.”
The same reporting said that on July 14 the Office of the Prosecutor requested withdrawal of the charges after obtaining exculpatory evidence, in addition to evidence having faded over time and the exhaustion of all investigative avenues. It also noted that the chamber authorised the withdrawal after reconsidering its previous decision to deny the same request, and that it condemned the prosecution’s position while reiterating that the determination would not prevent filing another case against Banda later.