Source: International Criminal Court (ICC)Today, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided to reschedule the confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain (Banda) and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus (Jerbo) to Wednesday, 8 December, 2010, in light of developments that have occurred in the composition of Chambers and of the Court schedule, as well as of the number of courtrooms which are available to the Court. The hearing was initially scheduled to start on 22 November, 2010.
The confirmation hearing is held to ensure that no case goes to trial unless there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed the crime with which he or she has been charged. The suspects have the right to attend the hearing or, in their absence, be represented by counsel. Pre-Trial Chamber I decided that, should the suspects intend to waive their right to be present at the confirmation hearing, the written request to the Chamber in this regard must be submitted no later than Monday, 8 November, 2010.
Mr Banda and Mr Jerbo are charged with three war crimes (violence to life, in the form of murder, whether committed or attempted; intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, materials, units, and vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission; and pillaging) allegedly committed during an attack carried out on 29 September, 2007, against the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), a peace-keeping mission stationed at the Haskanita Military Group Site, in the locality of Umm Kadada, North Darfur. It is alleged that the attackers killed 12 and severely wounded 8 soldiers, destroyed communications facilities and other materials and appropriated property belonging to AMIS.
This case is the fourth in the situation in Darfur after the cases of The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Muhammad Harun (Ahmad Harun) and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (Ali Kushayb), The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir and The Prosecutor v. Bahar Idriss Abu Garda.
The suspects (Harun and Kushayb, and Al Bashir) in the first two cases remain at large. Abu Garda appeared voluntarily before the ICC on 18 May, 2009. The confirmation of charges hearing took place from 19 to 29 October, 2009. On 8 February, 2010, Pre-Trial Chamber I declined to confirm the charges against him.
The situation in Darfur was referred to the International Criminal Court by United Nations Security Council resolution 1593 on 31 March, 2005, under article 13(b) of the Rome Statute.
