Sudanese militia leader appears before UN court (Roundup)

May 18, 2009, 14:52 GMT

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.