REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JOHANNESBURG -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has left South Africa after the Pretoria High Court issued an order preventing him to leave the country, sources said Sunday.
Quoting Sudanese Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman, sources, who requested anonymity, told Xinhua that the minister said al-Bashir has left the country.
Some South African media also reported that the Sudanese president has left the country, without giving specific news sources.
Al-Bashir left the country after attending the opening session attended by African Heads of State and Government at the 25th African Union (AU) Summit in Johannesburg, in defiance of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), said some sources refusing to be named.
The Sudanese government said the al-Bashir would only leave South Africa after the AU Summit ends on Monday. But there were also reports that al-Bashir was seen at the AU Summit after he was reported to have left South Africa.
The Sudanese government said al-Bashir would only leave South Africa only after the AU Summit ends on Monday.
The conflicting reports confused the media about Al-Bashir's whereabouts.
The report of al-Bashir's departure has yet to be verified.
Apparently there was a cat-and-mouse game unfolding on the sidelines of the AU Summit.
The ICC has requested South Africa to arrest al-Bashir when he came to the country to attend the summit. Al-Bashir is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity.
The Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) filed an urgent application on Sunday to the Pretoria High Court, requesting a court order to have al-Bashir arrested.
Judge Hans Fabricius ruled that al-Bashir should not leave the country until the urgent application to have him arrested has been heard.
But hours later Fabricius postponed the order to have al-Bashir arrested, at the request of the South African government.
The order was postponed until 11:30 a.m. Monday local time to allow the government to present its side of the argument.
In his second ruling, Fabricius ordered that al-Bashir not be allowed to leave South Africa pending the finalization of the application for the SA government to arrest him and that the SA Department of Home Affairs ensure the order is sent to every port of entry and exit in the country.
The judge also ordered that there be proof of service of the order and the identity of each person it is served on.
William Mokhari, who represents the SA government, told the court that al-Bashir will not be allowed to leave until after the application to have him arrested has been heard.
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