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Arab League ministers slam Bashir arrest

Posted October 13, 2008 11:05:00

Justice ministers from the Arab League say there is no sound legal basis for the arrest of Sudan's President Omar al Bashir.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has requested an arrest warrant for Mr Bashir on charges that include genocide and war crimes in Darfur.

At a special meeting in Cairo to discuss the charges, justice ministers suggested that the chief prosecutor's request was politically motivated.

But Mr Moreno-Ocampo pressed on with his case for an arrest warrant, saying he could not ignore evidence that President Bashir personally controlled attacks in Darfur during which villages were bombed and civilians raped or killed.

The justice ministers said they would support efforts to halt the prosecution.

A team of judges at the international court has not yet ruled on whether to grant the arrest warrant.

-BBC

Tags: law-crime-and-justice, courts-and-trials, international-law, sudan

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