Kenyan court orders arrest of Sudanese President Bashir

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Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir should be arrested and turned over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague if he visits Kenya again, a Kenyan court ruled Monday.

Judge Nicholas Ombija said in the ruling that Bashir, who is wanted by the ICC on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, should be arrested ‘should he set foot in Kenya,’ according to news reports. The charges against Bashir are tied to his government’s crackdown on rebels in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.

Sudan responded to the court action Monday by ordering Kenya’s ambassador to leave the country and recalling its own ambassador, according to news reports.

The African Union has urged members not to honor the arrest warrant for Bashir. But Kenya is an ICC member obligated to cooperate with the court.

Kenyan officials were criticized by the ICC and others for allowing Bashir to visit Nairobi last year without facing arrest. The Kenyan section of the International Commission of Jurists then sought a new arrest warrant for Bashir.

Ombija reportedly said Kenya should arrest the Sudanese president to show its respect for human rights.

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-- Times staff and wire reports