Contrary to media reports published on Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) says that no decision has been made yet on the application for an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir on charges of war crimes in Darfur, a UN spokesperson said.
In a news release issued in The Hague, where the ICC is based, the court stated that "no decision has yet been taken by the judges" concerning Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo's application for such a warrant, Michele Montas, the UN spokesperson, told a news briefing here.
Last July, Moreno-Ocampo presented evidence to the court against the Sudanese president for alleged war crimes in Darfur, including genocide, some three years after the UN Security Council requested him to investigate atrocities committed in the strife- torn region.
Sudan rejects the accusation and any possible indictment against the president. Sudanese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ali al- Sadiq said in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, on Wednesday that the court is "a mere tool for political conspiracy against the Sudan and that it has nothing to do with the international justice."
"Sudan will not hand over any of its citizens to the ICC and any indictment by the ICC is categorically rejected," the spokesman said.
The New York Times, citing unidentified lawyers and diplomats, reported late Wednesday that judges have decided to issue a warrant.
(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2009)