Ignoring International Warrants, Sudan’s Leader Says He’ll Visit Moscow
The invitation to the president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, presents a new test of Mr. Bashir’s defiance
of the international court at The Hague, which issued arrest warrants for him years ago over the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Some Russian news agencies carried a Reuters dispatch about it,
and the headline by one agency, RBC, said, "President who is defendant at the International Criminal Court invited to Moscow." There was no immediate comment from the International Criminal Court.
But the tone of the announcement about the Russia visit, made by Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour of Sudan
and carried via the official Sudan News Agency, suggested that Mr. Bashir intended to go through with it.
While Mr. Bashir has visited numerous nations since, he could be arrested if he visits member countries of the International Criminal Court.
Those plans were first announced on Jan. 13, but the United States said it would wait 180 days to assess whether Sudan further improves its human rights record
and addresses longstanding internal strife and insurgencies including the Darfur conflict.
By RICK GLADSTONEJULY 3, 2017
Genocide and war-crimes charges have long shadowed Sudan’s president, sometimes forcing him to scrap or
alter travel abroad to avoid the risk of arrest and extradition to the International Criminal Court.