Arabs criticize arrest warrant for Sudanese President al-Bashir

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Arab justice ministers said Sunday that an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president requested by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has "no sound legal basis." The group's statement, issued after a day-long meeting in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, was a show of support for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, who is the first sitting head of state to face genocide charges. Al-Bashir has dismissed ICC charges that he directed mass killings in Darfur as politically motivated and aimed at destabilizing his government. Sudanese officials have lobbied African and Arab governments to support al-Bashir by calling for the ICC to freeze the prosecution process. Head ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has asked judges to issue an arrest warrant for al-Bashir, but no decision has been announced. The group of Arab justice ministers said it "rejects attempts to politicize the principles of international justice" and stated that the ICC prosecutor's request "has no sound legal basis."