Babgui / the Hague — The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague has confirmed that former Darfur janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, who has been indicted for crimes against humanity, is "in ICC custody".

The ICC statement says that on account of an ICC arrest warrant issued on 27 April 2007, Kushayb is suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur.

In today's statement, ICC Registrar Peter Lewis thanked the Minister of Justice Flavien M'Bata and the authorities of the Central African Republic, the French Republic, the Republic of Chad, as well as the leaders of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the authorities of the host State, the Netherlands, for their support to the Court and cooperation in the arrest, surrender and transfer of Kushayb to the Court.

Pre-Trial Chamber I considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that, (i) from about August 2002, an armed conflict took place between the Government of Sudan including combatants from the Sudan People's Armed Forces (the Sudanese Armed Forces) and the Popular Defence Force (PDF) along with the Janjaweed militia against organised rebel groups, including the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in Darfur, Sudan; (ii) in 2003 and 2004, that the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Janjaweed militia, acting together as part of the counter-insurgency campaign, carried out several attacks, of a systematic or widespread nature, on the towns of Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar, Arawala and surrounding areas.

The warrant of arrest delivered on 27 April 2007 against Ali Kushayb lists 50 counts on the basis of his individual criminal responsibility including:

- Twenty-two counts of crimes against humanity (murder; deportation or forcible transfer of population; imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; torture ; persecution; rape; inhumane acts of inflicting serious bodily injury and suffering ); and

- Twenty-eight counts of war crimes (murder, violence to life and person; outrage upon personal dignity in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population; pillaging; rape; destroying or seizing the property).

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