It dismissed Banda’s arguments that he should have been allowed to make further submissions to the trial court before it replaced a summons with an arrest warrant.
Banda appeared voluntarily before the ICC on June 17, 2010. In September 2014, the trial court decided to issue an arrest warrant, saying it had requested Sudan’s cooperation to “facilitate the accused’s presence at trial”, but that this was not forthcoming and so “there are no guarantees that, in the current circumstances, he will be in an objective position to appear voluntarily, regardless of whether he wishes to be present at trial or not”. The court also postponed indefinitely the start of trial, which had been set for November 2014.
Banda faces three charges of war crimes in connection with a September 2007 attack on the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan, at the Haskanita Military base in Darfur.
Other Sudanese, including President Omar Al Bashir, are also wanted by the ICC for crimes committed in Darfur.
JC/FS