Bashir flew out of South Africa on June 15, before the end of the African leaders summit, despite an earlier ruling blocking him from leaving.
A court June 15 ordered the government to disclose why he was allowed to leave, in a ruling criticised the authorities action as not consistent with the constitution.
Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, arrived in South Africa on Saturday to attend the African Union summit, prompting a court bid by a rights group to have him arrested.
The South African government said in a statement they would investigate the circumstance surrounding Bashir's departure through a military base.
"We will also comply with the court order relating to submission of an affidavit outlining these circumstances," it said in a statement.
South Africa is a signatory of The Hague-based ICC and has come under global criticism for failing to arrest Bashir, who has evaded justice since his indictment in 1999.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the arrest warrant was "a matter I take extremely seriously and the authority of the ICC must be respected."
The ICC indictments relate to the western Sudanese region of Darfur, which erupted into conflict in 2003 when black insurgents rose up against Bashir's Arab-dominated government, complaining of marginalisation.
Since his indictment, Bashir has mostly travelled to countries that have not joined the ICC.
South Africa rights group, the Southern African Litigation Centre, which led the court action, threatened to take further legal action against the state over its handling of the case.
[hurriyetdailynews.com]
16/6/15
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The South African government secretly plotted to ensure safe passage out of the country for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir despite an international warrant for his arrest on war crimes charges, a newspaper reported on Sunday...
ReplyDeleteBashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity over the conflict in Darfur, was able to fly out of Pretoria last Monday despite a court order blocking his departure.
South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper, revealing what it said was a secret meeting of top ministers to discuss protecting Bashir, said he was escorted to his plane by President Jacob Zuma's own police.
The ICC had called on South Africa -- which is a signatory to the court -- to detain Bashir while he was in the country for an African Union summit.
But security ministers agreed at a meeting before the Sudanese leader arrived that South Africa would "protect Bashir by any means necessary -- even if it meant flouting court rulings and undermining the constitution", the Sunday Times said, quoting a senior government source.
After the meeting, which was attended by the defence and police ministers and the director general of Zuma's office, Bashir was given the go-ahead to fly to South Africa and "promised maximum protection", the source was quoted as saying.
Bashir left on the final day of the summit in Johannesburg, even as the local high court was still hearing arguments over an urgent application to force the authorities to detain him on the ICC warrant.....AFP...http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/133326.aspx
21/6/15