ICC drops prosecution of Abdullah Banda and cancels arrest warrant

Khartoum – OnePress

The International Criminal Court (ICC) concluded the prosecution of the JEM leader, Abdullah Banda Akbar Nourin, and cancelled his arrest warrant since 2014, after a request from the prosecutor’s office to withdraw charges based on exculpatory evidence and the strength of some of the evidence declined over time.

In a statement, the Tribunal explained that Trial Chamber IV had agreed to close the case, considering that continuing it despite the fact that the prosecution had declared its unwillingness to proceed might run counter to fair trial guarantees. At the same time, she said, the decision did not prevent the case from being reopened or new charges being brought in the future if new evidence emerged.

The court issued an arrest warrant for Banda in 2014 on charges of war crimes related to the 2007 attack on African Union peacekeepers in the Haskanita region of North Darfur, which killed 12 soldiers and wounded eight others. Benda is currently the Military Adviser to the Chairman of the Justice and Equality Movement, Jibril Ibrahim.