S. African court orders al-Bashir not to exit country

JOHANNESBURG — A South African judge on Sunday ordered authorities to prevent Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is in South Africa for an African Union summit, from leaving the country because he is wanted by the International Criminal Court, human rights activists said Sunday.

“President Omar al-Bashir is prohibited from leaving the Republic of South Africa until a final order is made in this application,” Judge Hans Fabricius said, according to local media reports.

The judge ordered the South African government to ensure that officials at all border posts enforce the court’s decision, according to Caroline James, a lawyer with the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, a rights group.

The court is expected to rule on Monday if al-Bashir should be handed over to the International Criminal Court to face charges of alleged genocide and human rights abuses.

Kamal Ismail, the Sudanese state minister for foreign affairs, told reporters in Khartoum that al-Bashir had received assurances from the South African government prior to his visit that he would be welcome and was expected to return to Sudan on schedule.

He said the court order preventing al-Bashir from leaving South Africa “has nothing to do with the reality on the ground there,” adding that “until now things are normal and there is no threat to the life of the president of the Republic.”

The African National Congress, which is South Africa’s ruling party, said the South African government granted immunity “for all (summit) participants as part of the international norms for countries hosting such gathering of the AU or even the United Nations.”

The charges against al-Bashir, who took power in a 1989 coup, stem from reported atrocities in the conflict in Darfur, in which 300,000 people were killed and two million displaced in a government campaign, according to United Nations figures.

Al-Bashir has visited Malawi, Kenya, Chad and Congo in the last few years, all of which are International Criminal Court member states.