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Press Release: 19.05.2009


Confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Bahr Idriss Abu Garda scheduled to start on Monday, 12 October 2009

ICC-CPI-20090519-PR414

Situation in Darfur, Sudan
Case: The Prosecutor v. Bahr Idriss Abu Garda


On 18 May 2009, Judge Cuno Tarfusser set the date of the beginning of the confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Bahr Idriss Abu Garda for Monday, 12 October 2009.

The decision was announced at the voluntary initial appearance of Abu Garda before the ICC. Abu Garda is suspected of having committed three war crimes during the attack against the peacekeeping mission of the African Union in North Sudan in September 2007.

During the initial appearance hearing, Judge Cuno Tarfusser, acting as Single Judge of the Pre-Trial Chamber I, ensured that Abu Garda was informed of the crimes that he is alleged to have committed and that he understood his rights under the Rome Statute. Judge Cuno Tarfusser said “the Court appreciate[d] very much [the] volunteer appearance [of Abu Garda] before [the Single Judge] today following the summons to appear issued by the Chamber I” on 7 May 2009.

Counsel for Abu Garda, Karim Khan, stated that his client “waive[d] his right to attend any status conference before the October date”. As for the confirmation hearing, he said that his client “may wish to attend, but it's too early at this moment to say whether or not he wishes to attend then or whether he does not”. Article 61 of the Rome Statute provides that a confirmation hearing may be held in the absence of a suspect when the person has “waived his or her right to be present,” or “fled or cannot be found and all reasonable steps have been taken to secure his or her appearance before the Court and to inform the person of the charges and that a hearing to confirm those charges will be held.” In that case, the person shall be represented by counsel where the Pre-Trial Chamber determines that it is in the interests of justice.

A confirmation hearing is held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed each of the crimes charged. If the charges are confirmed, the Pre-Trial Chamber commits the case for trial before a trial chamber, which will conduct the subsequent phase of the proceedings: the trial.

After his initial appearance, Abu Garda left the Netherlands. He had arrived on Sunday, 17 May at the premises of the Court and stayed in a location assigned to him by the ICC.

Abu Garda, member of the Zaghawa tribe of Sudan, is charged with three war crimes (violence to life, in the form of murder, whether committed or attempted, intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, materials, units, and vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission, and pillaging) allegedly committed during an attack carried out on 29 September 2007 against the African Union Mission in Sudan (“AMIS”), a peace-keeping mission stationed at the Military Group Site Haskanita, Umm Kadada locality, North Darfur. It is alleged that the attackers killed twelve and severely wounded eight soldiers, destroyed communication facilities and other materials and appropriated property belonging to AMIS.

This case is the third in the Darfur situation after the cases of The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Muhammad Harun (“Ahmad Harun”) and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (“Ali Kushayb”), and The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir. The three suspects (Al Bashir, Harun and Kushayb) remain at large.

Pre-Trial Chamber I is also reviewing the Prosecutor’s application, submitted on 20 November 2008, for the issuance of warrants of arrest or, alternatively, summonses to appear for two other individuals who allegedly participated in the attack on MGS Haskanita.




For further information, please contact Ms Sonia Robla, Head of Public Information and Documentation Section at +31 (0)70 515 8089 or +31 (0) 6 46 44 87 26 or at sonia.robla@icc-cpi.int



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