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By ZamChro Corrospendent
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The International Criminal Court issued an . He is the first sitting head of state the court has ordered arrested.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur
The three-judge panel said there was insufficient evidence to support charges of genocide.
Court spokeswoman Laurence Blairon said, “He is suspected of being criminally responsible … for intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians, and pillaging their property.”
Sudan does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction and refuses to arrest suspects.
If Al-Bashir is brought to trial and prosecuted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Sudanese TV did not carry the Hague news conference, but at one point broke in to programming with a brief news report that the warrant had been issued. The broadcaster on state radio announced the decision, and added, “a new chapter now begins” but did not elaborate.
In Khartoum, security was increased around many embassies, and some diplomats and aid workers stayed home Wednesday amid fears of retaliation against Westerners before the court’s announcement. The ruling party announced that it plans a “million man march” in Khartoum on Thursday to protest any warrant.
Asked why judges, in a 2-1 split decision, did not issue the warrant for genocide, Blairon explained that genocide requires a clear intent to destroy in part or as a whole a specific group.
“In this particular case, the pretrial chamber has not been able to find there were reasonable grounds to establish a genocidal intent,” she said.
Copyrights © 2009 Zambian Chronicle. All rights reserved. Zambian Chronicle content may not be stored except for personal, non-commercial use. Republication and redissemination of Zambian Chronicle content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Zambian Chronicle. Zambian Chronicle shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, interruptions or delays in connection with the Zambian Chronicle content or from any damages arising therefrom.
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By ZamChro Correspondent
The wife of Zambia’s former President Frederick Chiluba has been jailed for three-and-a-half years. Regina Chiluba was found guilty of receiving stolen state funds to buy three houses and a commercial property while her husband was in office.
Wife of Former President
She married Mr. Chiluba after he stood down in 2001, having served two terms. Mr. Chiluba, who is also on trial for corruption, shook his head as the magistrate read out his verdict.
Weeping
Our correspondent says Mrs. Chiluba – usually a glamorous dresser – was wearing a simple traditional “Chitenge” outfit in court in the capital, Lusaka.
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“These were serious allegations and were casually explained by the accused”
Magistrate Charles Kafunda
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She continuously mopped her face with a handkerchief during the two-hour judgment. Every available seat in the court was taken up and many more people stood at the back of the room while others blocked the door, our reporter says.
A shocked silence filled the court when the conviction was read out. “These were serious allegations and were casually explained by the accused, and I now convict you accordingly and sentence you to three-and-half years simple imprisonment,” AFP news agency quotes Magistrate Charles Kafunda as saying.
Some relatives began to silently weep and had to be helped out; others began to sing Christian songs, our correspondent says. Soon after judgment was passed, a court clerk took Mrs. Chiluba’s fingerprints while the former president joined her in the dock.
She was then led to a waiting car and driven to the Lusaka Central Prison to begin her sentence. The court ordered that all the properties in question be forfeited to the state.
Her lawyer has indicated that he will appeal against the sentence in Lusaka’s High Court.
Mrs. Chiluba was also convicted of receiving a television set that the prosecution proved belonged to the state and for failing to explain how she came to have nearly $100,000 in her personal bank account.
Her husband, whose immunity from prosecution was lifted in 2003, denies stealing millions of dollars of state funds. Levy Mwanawasa, who launched a high-profile campaign after succeeding Mr. Chiluba in 2001, died last year.
President Rupiah Banda has promised to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor.
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