Over the weekend, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir went to South Africa for a African Union meeting and a South African High Court ruled that President al-Bashir was not to leave the country as the Court ruled whether or not he should be arrested. At play was an International Criminal Court indictment that calls for al-Bashir’s arrest and the Rome Statute that requires South Africa to arrest him and South African law that grants diplomatic immunity to visiting heads of state. Before the Court could rule though, Bashir had fled the country. Some wonder how Bashir was able to leave, since the order applied to “each & very port of entry.”
However, Bashir did leave the country and he flew back to Sudan. On his arrival, he and thousands of supporters celebrated in Khartoum, the nation’s capital. His supporters carried caskets with blankets drawn over that had “laying the ICC to its final rest” written on them through the streets. Al-Bashir has publicly criticized and derided the ICC for their indictment of him. al-Bashir is wanted by the ICC for his role in the Sudanese Civil War which has caused the deaths of over one million Sudanese.