ICC panel rejects Al-Bashir arrest warrant

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, must reconsider charging Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with genocide, an appeals panel ruled.

With its decision, the ICC's Appeals Chamber instructed the Pre-Trial Chamber to reassess whether to include genocide charges under a revised standard and amend the arrest warrant if necessary, the ICC said in a release.

In March 2009, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber rejected including charges of genocide on the basis that the prosecutor didn't present "reasonable grounds to believe" the Sudanese government had the necessary intent for the crime of genocide.

The Appeals Chamber said it wasn't concerned whether al-Bashir was responsible for the crime of genocide, but whether the Pre-Trial Chamber applied the correct standard of proof, the ICC said. The Appeals Chamber said the standard used to issue the original warrant was too demanding at the warrant stage.

"Today's decision is a strong reminder that President al-Bashir is wanted for heinous crimes committed in Darfur," Elise Keppler, Human Rights Watch's International Justice Program senior counsel, said in a release. "President al-Bashir is a fugitive from justice who needs to appear in The Hague to answer to the allegations against him."