Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state (Qaddafi is the second) to be indicted by the International Crimnal Court – in his case, for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide carried out during the conflict in Darfur, which began in 2003.
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo first requested an arrest warrant in 2008 and it was finally issued – for crimes against humanity and war crimes – in March 2009. A second warrant was issued in July 2010 for genocide. However, Mr. Bashir has denied the accusations and continues to travel regionally, evading arrest. All ICC signatories are obligated to respect the warrant, and some leaders have warned him that they would be legally bound to arrest him should he visit.
