New blood, new approach: how ICC prosecutor plans to rebuild case against Bashir

摘要

The new prosecutor of the International Criminal Court(ICC), Karim Khan, does not seem in a rush to get hishands on the former president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir.Where his predecessors Luis Moreno Ocampo (2003-2012) and Fatou Bensouda (2012-2021) hit a brick wallon the case, the 51-year-old British lawyer is determinednot to fail. He seems prepared to take a radically newapproach or even start (almost) from scratch: after afirst trip to Khartoum in August, Khan and his teams havebeen shuttling between The Hague and the Sudanesecapital with plans to open a permanent office in Sudan(AI, 17/09/21). This new unit would be tasked withgathering evidence and hearing witness accounts. Afterthe ICC Appeals Chamber upheld former Ivorian presidentLaurent Gbagbo's acquittal after ten years ofinvestigations and proceedings, Khan is all too awarethat the already tainted reputation of his office wouldsuffer further in the event of another unsuccessfulprosecution.