Govt denied leave to appeal order to arrest al-Bashir
A South African court on Wednesday denied the government permission to appeal its earlier ruling that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir should have been arrested when he was in the country in June.
Al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in the region of Darfur, came to South Africa for an African Union summit held in Johannesburg.
He was allowed to leave the country while the North Gauteng High Court was considering whether the government should arrest him.
The government’s argument that al-Bashir had diplomatic immunity as head of state did not override its obligation to arrest him, judge Hans Fabricius said at the Pretoria court on Wednesday.
The ICC has asked South Africa to explain why it allowed the Sudanese leader to leave the country. President Jacob Zuma said the government was studying the request.
The ICC, based in the Hague, has issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir over alleged war crimes in Darfur, where the government has been fighting rebels since 2003.
The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people have died because of the violence and related starvation and disease during the past decade. - dpa
(File photo: Getty Images)