Amsterdam — Politicians and activists have questioned widespread reports, covered on Sunday in international media including the Associated Press and Reuters and attributed to unnamed sources, that Ahmed Haroun, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), has been arrested. The reports emerged following his appearance in a recorded interview with Sudan Podcast on Friday. However, no official statement confirming his arrest has been issued by the authorities, the prosecution, the justice minister, the attorney-general, or the police.

Haroun, in addition to being wanted by the ICC, is chairman of the dissolved National Congress Party (NCP) and one of the prominent leaders of the Islamist movement. The podcast interview marked his first public recorded appearance since he left Kober Prison in Khartoum during the early days of the war. Since then, Haroun has remained at liberty, moving freely and issuing statements on specific issues.

In an article entitled Ahmed Haroun gave the interview at the Salam Rotana Hotel! Was he detained at Rotana too? Yasser Arman, a prominent figure in civil coalition alliances and leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - Revolutionary Democratic Current, commented on Haroun's podcast appearance.

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"Ahmed Haroun sat addressing people from the ICC's balcony, lecturing the hungry, defining Sudan's future, and distributing what he does not own to those who do not deserve it. He sat in his chair with the dilemmas of the ICC and the December Revolution in front of and behind him. Outside the hotel, the images of Sit El Nufur, Kasha, Sara Abdelbagi, El Sanhouri, and their distinguished companions were looking on," Arman wrote.

He added: "Informed sources say the interview took place at the Salam Rotana, which has become a hotel for warlords. Anyone who does not believe this should go there early tomorrow morning at breakfast time and see the militia commanders in the hotel lobby and dining hall."

Arman continued sarcastically: "I think it would be appropriate to detain him at the Salam Rotana, where the services, including communications, are better!"

Meanwhile, Khalid Omar Youssef, a leading figure in the Sudanese civil democratic coalition Sumud, described the events as nothing more than "a crude, transparent, and badly staged farce", intended solely to circumvent mounting regional and international pressure.

"El Burhan did not discover Haroun's presence by chance. He is one of the leaders of the war. He is the one who gave their devastating current war the name 'War of Dignity', which El Burhan continues to repeat. Haroun operates under the protection of the security and military agencies whose key positions are controlled by his associates," Youssef said.

Haroun at liberty since the outbreak of war

The Emergency Lawyers group said that, since the outbreak of war on 15 April 2023, several prominent figures from the former regime had left Kober Prison. However, the Sudanese authorities had failed to provide sufficient legal clarification about the circumstances of their release, the status of criminal proceedings against them, or the measures taken to ensure their appearance before the courts.

The group said there was information indicating that some of these wanted individuals were moving around and residing in areas under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), without their legal status or the measures taken against them being disclosed.

In a statement, Emergency Lawyers expressed grave concern over Haroun's public appearance while the arrest warrant against him remains in force. It said this raised serious questions about the responsibility of the competent authorities to enforce arrest warrants and ensure that those wanted by the courts cannot evade justice.

The group called on the Sudanese authorities, particularly the SAF leadership, to immediately disclose the legal status of Ahmed Haroun, Omar Al Bashir, and Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein, clarify the circumstances of their release from detention and their current whereabouts, and explain the status of the national criminal complaints and proceedings against them.

It also called for the necessary measures to be taken to arrest them and hand them over to the International Criminal Court.

In his interview with Sudan Podcast, Ahmed Haroun blamed the security committee led by former vice-president Awad Ibn Auf and former National Intelligence and Security Service director Salah Abdullah, known as Gosh, for what happened to the former regime.

He argued that the events did not amount simply to the fall of a government, but were the result of betrayal from within the committee responsible for protecting the country.

Haroun said the dissolved National Congress Party regarded its relationship with El Burhan as no different from the relationship between any president and political forces, and that it was not based on party or organisational affiliation.

He argued that threats to the state required traditional distinctions between government and opposition to be set aside. He also said the party held no resentment towards the chairman of the Sovereignty Council because El Burhan had not been a member of the security committee that removed Al Bashir from power.

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During the interview, Haroun proposed adopting a hybrid political system, questioning whether a model of governance could be developed that accommodated the relationship between civilian forces and the military establishment.

He also proposed an electoral system based on proportional representation, under which each political party would receive a share of parliamentary seats corresponding to its electoral support, rather than relying on geographical constituencies. He further called for political forces to reach agreement on a new social contract.

Ahmed Haroun had been held at Kober Prison in Khartoum alongside ousted president Omar Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir and former defence minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein. All three are wanted by the International Criminal Court over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, while Al Bashir also faces allegations of genocide.

Haroun was also subject to domestic criminal proceedings, including case No. 2868 of 2006 concerning crimes in Darfur, as well as reports concerning investigations into the killing of protesters during the December Revolution of 2018.

Since leaving prison, Haroun has remained at liberty, moving freely between cities and states in Sudan under the control of the Sudanese army.

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