Sudanese president Bashir wanted: leaves South Africa, despite Pretoria court order
Sudan president Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court on an arrest warrant for genocide and war-crimes charges in Darfur, jetted out of a South African military airport on Monday in defiance of a court order that banned him from leaving. Hours after his departure, unaware that he had gone, a Pretoria court ordered Mr. Bashir’s arrest on the international warrant, but a government lawyer immediately announced that Mr. Bashir had left the country. The court sharply criticized the government for violating the court order and its own constitution, and demanded an explanation within a week. Government lawyer William Mokhari promised that the government would “fully investigate” how exactly Mr. Bashir had been able to leave the country. The Pretoria court on Sunday had ordered South Africa to prohibit Mr. Bashir from leaving the country until the court had ruled on whether he should be arrested and sent to The Hague for trial by the International Crim...