The International Criminal Court (ICC) judges reluctantly dismissed a case against a fugitive Sudanese rebel accused of attacking African Union peacekeepers in Darfur nearly 20 years ago. This came after prosecutors admitted they could no longer prove their case at trial.
The judges were unusually critical of the ICC prosecutors in a written decision released last week. They approved the request to drop charges against Abdallah Banda, who faced three war crime charges related to his alleged role in a deadly 2007 attack on a peacekeeping camp in northern Darfur.
In a statement, the ICC revealed on Thursday that judges “determined that the prosecution had not demonstrated that the evidence supporting the confirmed charges had deteriorated to the point that the case could no longer proceed to trial.” However, the judges ruled that “proceeding with the trial in this particular case, with a prosecutor refusing to present the case despite the evidentiary and legal obligations to do so, would contravene the chamber’s ultimate obligation to ensure a fair and efficient trial.”
Prosecutors admitted that their request would affect 103 victims of the case who “have waited for over 15 years for justice for the crimes committed during the attack” against peacekeepers. They cited setbacks, including the loss of credibility of two key witnesses and the emergence of a new witness whose testimony could exonerate Banda.
As a result, the prosecutors mentioned in their request to withdraw the charges that they no longer see reasonable prospects of convicting Mr. Banda on any of the charges. They added that an independent analyst who reviewed the evidence agreed with their assessment.
The decision comes amid a concerted effort by the Trump administration to “dismantle” the international court, and as the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, faces a vote on Friday among the 125 ICC member states on whether to remove him over allegations—which he denies—of sexual misconduct with an aide.
Two decades ago, Sudan’s Darfur region became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the infamous Janjaweed Arab militias, against populations identifying as Central African or originating from East Africa. Up to 300,000 people died and 2.7 million were displaced.
Last year, the ICC convicted a Janjaweed leader and sentenced him to 20 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Darfur conflict over two decades ago. Former President Omar al-Bashir has been charged by the ICC with crimes, including genocide, but has not been handed over to face justice in The Hague, despite being ousted from power and detained.
ICC prosecutors believe war crimes and crimes against humanity continue in Darfur, where civil war has persisted for more than two years. The court’s Deputy Prosecutor, Nazhat Shameem Khan, reported last year to the UN Security Council that the humanitarian crisis in Darfur “has reached an intolerable state,” with worsening famine and ongoing attacks on hospitals, humanitarian convoys, and other civilian infrastructure.