Press conference on Abu Garda's confirmation of charges hearing on Friday, 16 October, 2009
Situation: Darfur, Sudan
Case: The Prosecutor v. Bahr Idriss Abu Garda
A press conference will be held at the International Criminal Court (ICC) tomorrow, 16 October, 2009, on the confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Bahr Idriss Abu Garda. It will start at 12.00 in the Press Conference Room at the headquarters of the ICC in The Hague. The press conference will be broadcast live on the Court’s website (www.icc-cpi.int)
The ICC Registrar, Silvana Arbia, the Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Counsel for the Defence, Karim Khan and the Representatives of the Victims, Akin Akinbote, and Helene Cisse will be available to make short statements in English after which there will be an opportunity for journalists to ask them questions. Interpretation into French will be available.
All media are kindly invited to attend; confirmation of attendance is not required for this event. Please use the public entrance located on Regulusweg and to arrive no later than 11.30. All media will have access to the Press Conference Room and the Media Centre.
Background information
The confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Bahr Idriss Abu Garda is scheduled to start on Monday, 19 October, 2009, at 9:30 until 16:00 (The Hague local time) and it will last until 29 October.
The confirmation hearing is held to ensure that no case goes to trial unless there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed the crime with which he has been charged. The suspect has the right to attend the hearing or in his absence be represented by counsel.
On 18 May this year Abu Garda, a member of the Zaghawa tribe of Sudan, appeared for the first time before the Court, in compliance with a summons issued under seal by Pre-Trial Chamber I on 7 May, and unsealed on 17 May.
Abu Garda is charged with three war crimes (violence to life, in the form of murder, whether committed or attempted; intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, materials, units, and vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission; and pillaging) allegedly committed during an attack carried out on 29 September, 2007, against the African Union Mission in Sudan (“AMIS”), a peace-keeping mission stationed at the Haskanita Military Group Site, in the locality of Umm Kadada, North Darfur. It is alleged that the attackers killed twelve and severely wounded eight African soldiers, destroyed communication facilities and other materials and appropriated property belonging to AMIS.
This case is the third in the Darfur situation after the cases of The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Muhammad Harun (“Ahmad Harun”) and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (“Ali Kushayb”), and The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir. The three suspects (Al Bashir, Harun and Kushayb) remain at large.
The Office of the Prosecutor has also submitted an application on 20 November, 2008, for the issuance of warrants of arrest or, alternatively, summonses to appear for two other individuals who allegedly participated in the attack on Haskanita MGS.
Media Centre
The Court’s Media Centre will be open from 11.00 to 14.00.
The area can sit up to 64 people and includes a Wi-Fi internet service; cards (plug + play) for those without Wi-Fi capability in their PC or laptop; 6 computers with internet access; and 7 telephones that may be used free of charge for internal calls. For external calls, journalists are advised to use their mobiles or purchase 0800 pre‑paid phone cards beforehand. Such cards are available at newsagents and train stations, but cannot be obtained in the vicinity of, or at, the ICC.
Please note that no feed from the Press Conference Room will be available in the Media Centre.
SNG trucks
SNG trucks are not allowed to park alongside the ICC building, but should go to the car park located at the intersection of Regulusweg and Wegastraat. Please note that no feed from the Press Conference Room will be available to the car park and that, moreover, there is no power supply available.
Background documents
The Court will provide various background documents during the press conference.
Live video streaming
It should be noted that the press conference will be broadcast live on the Court’s website with a low and high speed connection dependent on choice. Please use the following links:
http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc1.asx - 128K High Quality - English
http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc3.asx - 56K Low Quality - English
Photography and audiovisual documents
Please note that it will only be possible to take photos in the Press Conference Room during the first 15 minutes of the press conference. The Court will provide to all those currently subscribing to receive ICC press releases a link to a selection of copyright-free digital photos.
Rough cut footage of the press conference will be available for downloading after the press conference – video: MPEG 4 for TV and audio: MPEG 3 for radio. Please contact Violeta.WillemsenCurcic@icc-cpi-int if you wish to receive these and are currently not on our media list.
Parking facilities
Parking facilities are available for media representatives at the Regulusweg and Wegastraat car parks.
For further information please contact Ms Sonia Robla, Head of Public Information and Documentation Section at +31 (0)70 515-8089 or +31 (0) 646448726 or at [email protected]