ICC moves to end Darfur war crimes case against former rebel commander Abdallah Banda

ICC moves to end Darfur war crimes case against former rebel commander Abdallah Banda

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Abdallah, a former commander of the Justice and Equality Movement, was accused of responsibility for the September 29, 2007, attack on an AU peacekeeping base at Haskanita, Darfur, in which 12 soldiers were killed and eight others seriously wounded.

The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has asked judges to withdraw war crimes charges against former Sudanese rebel commander Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain, saying a review of the case found that the available evidence is no longer strong enough to support his prosecution over a deadly 2007 attack on African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Darfur.
The request, filed before Trial Chamber IV, could bring an end to the ICC case against Abdallah if approved by judges.
Abdallah, a former commander of the Justice and Equality Movement, was accused of responsibility for the September 29, 2007, attack on an AU peacekeeping base at Haskanita, Darfur, in which 12 soldiers were killed and eight others seriously wounded.
Abdallah was subsequently charged with three counts of war crimes linked to the attack, with the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber confirming the charges in March 2011.
The court later issued an arrest warrant in September 2014 after Abdallah failed to appear before the court. The case, however, never reached trial, leaving victims and affected communities waiting for years for a judicial determination.
According to the prosecution, the decision followed a reassessment of evidence gathered over more than a decade of investigations, which found that the case had significantly weakened.
The prosecution cited several factors, including witnesses becoming unavailable or unwilling to cooperate, concerns over the credibility of some key testimony, and new evidence that raised doubts about Banda’s alleged involvement in the attack.
The ICC prosecutor’s office added that further investigations were unlikely to produce evidence that would change its assessment because of the passage of time and the limited avenues remaining to pursue the case.
However, the ICC stressed that a request to withdraw the charges would not prevent prosecutors from bringing new charges against Abdallah in the future if sufficient evidence emerges.
“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,” ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said.
Further, the prosecutor’s office stressed that the withdrawal request applies only to Banda’s case and does not signal a halt to ICC investigations into alleged crimes in Darfur.
“The withdrawal of charges concerns only Banda. Our Office will continue efforts in cases pending before the Court over past atrocities, as well as our ongoing investigation into current crimes in Darfur,” Khan said.

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