As Sudan progresses through a democratic transition, its decision on February 11 to hand former dictator Omar Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicates the country is seeking to further shed its authoritarian past. There has been a struggle to bring Bashir to justice for his actions during his 30-year-long rule, while Sudanese civilians still bear the scars from his destructive policies.

The general belief was that it should have been done a lot earlier. “A decision to hand him over to the court [is] a welcome step towards justice for victims and their families – it is a historic outrage that, despite being under arrest warrants for more than a decade, al-Bashir has evaded justice until now,” said Julie Verhaar, Acting Secretary General of Amnesty International.

Historical Background

Bashir was the figurehead of Sudan’s military rule over the country. He rose up the ranks during an extensive military career, having studied at a military school in Cairo and joining the fight against Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Bashir eventually took a leading role in the Sudanese army’s campaign against the rebels of the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

He led the 1989 coup against the democratically elected Sudanese government and established the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation which he presided over until 1993. During this time, Bashir dissolved the parliament, banned political parties, and restricted the press.

Not only was Bashir in breach of Sudan’s Constitution with the 1989 coup, in which 28 army generals were murdered, he extended these abuses to civilians across the country.

Not only was he in breach of Sudan’s Constitution with this coup, in which 28 army generals were murdered, he extended these abuses to civilians across the country.

Bashir now faces charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, including countless cases of rape and torture in the Darfur region of Sudan between 2003 and 2008. In what was known as the Darfur Campaign, Bashir’s forces caused the deaths of over 200,000 people through starvation tactics and ethnically focused attacks.

Anti-government opposition forces had previously launched a rebellion against the government in 2003. The rebels complained against ethnic marginalization from Khartoum, with Bashir’s regime cracking down with a force of pro-government Arab militias known as the Janjaweed—allowing countless violations against civilians to take place.

According to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report from 2004, Bashir had used an aerial bombardment campaign, which he claimed was to “annihilate” the “hirelings, traitors, agents, and renegades.”

The HRW report also stated the destruction of water sources, burning of crops, and theft of livestock were key elements in the government’s operation. Bashir’s forces had also deliberately targeted civilians, whilst killing members of the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa ethnic groups, and pillaging towns and villages.

“Well, before there was conflict, it’s true, but now when a village is burned then automatically a helicopter descends to reinforce the Arabs,” an elderly Masalit refugee told HRW in 2004. “Whenever a village resists, then the plane comes down, so for me it’s not the Arabs, it’s the government that’s different from before. It has changed its attitude.”

Darfuris have relived the horrors of the Darfur Campaign, as pro-government militias continued attacks on civilians in the subsequent years.

Darfuris have relived the horrors of the Darfur Campaign, as pro-government militias continued attacks on civilians in the subsequent years.

In response to these violations, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir in March 2009, and a second one in July 2010, based on a UN Security Council referral in 2005. Initially he was charged with crimes against humanity rather than genocide.

Though still a fugitive, the case was temporarily dropped in 2014 over a lack of UN action compelling Bashir to appear in court. As Sudan was not a member of the ICC, Bashir was able to avoid prosecution, as only a UN Security Council vote could enforce this.

More recently and starting in December 2018, protests had gathered pace within the country, forcing Bashir from power the following April, despite his attempts to crackdown on the demonstrators. Popular media narratives claimed the rise of bread prices had triggered the protests. But while acting as a spark, this relatively minor act had merely further aggravated long-standing tensions which were generated by corruption, inequality, and authoritarian rule—accumulating into a vast revolutionary movement.

The Situation Today

It’s therefore no surprise that after such an uphill battle to bring Bashir to justice, Sudanese protesters and victims of his regime have rejoiced over Sudan’s recent decision to hand him to the ICC, having long demanded that he be held accountable for his crimes.

“Today is incredible…nobody thought this day would come,” said Abdulrahman Deiges, a refugee in Norway since being forced from Darfur by Bashir’s forces in 2003.

“There was rejoicing across the camp after people heard Bashir is being handed over to the ICC,” 65-year-old Adam Ali, a long-time resident of the Kalma relocation camp in Nyala –capital of South Darfur state, told Agence France Presse.

Local community leader Yaqoob Mohamed said the decision was “a victory for the victims” and would go a long way towards “rebuilding trust” in the leadership in Khartoum.

The ICC extradition is not the first case of legal action against Bashir since his overthrow last April. He appeared before a Sudanese court last August and was indicted on charges of corruption and money laundering.

The ICC extradition is not the first case of legal action against Bashir since his overthrow last April. Bashir appeared before a Sudanese court last August and was indicted on charges of corruption and money laundering. One of the charges was for illegally receiving $90 million from Saudi Arabia, which came at different intervals, throughout Mohammad bin Salman’s era and the reign of King Abdullah, who died in 2015.

Even after his forced departure and these charges, Bashir’s legacy remains; there are still refugees who had fled the genocide living in camps across Darfur. Countless citizens are still struggling, living in deprived conditions in the region, whilst feeling the impact of the war on their communities.

Marwa Ishaq, who survived the ethnic cleansing in Darfur, resides with her children in a village camp in North Darfur, under unlivable circumstances.

“There are no schools for our kids to go [to], so none of them receive any kind of education,” said Ishaq, in an interview with Al Jazeera. “There are no hospitals, so we must walk for miles or hitch a ride. Even for water, we must walk for two hours as there is no pump in the village.”

Despite all the evidence against him, Bashir still tries to avoid trial in the ICC case, and his lawyer Mohamed al-Hassan al-Amin told Reuters, that it will not happen easily. Still, handing Bashir to the ICC would symbolize Sudan’s hard-fought move towards justice.

A member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council said any extradition “might take months,” because Bashir is wanted for other crimes in Sudan related to the “revolution” and the military coup in 1989.

Though it took a revolution to bring him down, after all his egregious abuses of power, Sudan’s full compliance is now essential in holding Bashir to account for his crimes.