THE SUDANESE authorities will bring criminal charges against the kidnappers of the two Goal aid workers freed on Sunday after more than 100 days in captivity in Darfur, the government minister who oversaw negotiations for the women's release has told The Irish Times.
“We are keen to bring them to justice and punish them. We will file a criminal case against them,” Abdul Bagi al-Jailani said. “We know them by name, clan and tribe so they will never escape punishment.” Mr Jailani had previously offered the kidnappers immunity if they agreed to hand over Sharon Commins, from Clontarf in Dublin, and her Ugandan colleague Hilda Kawuki. But he clarified that this offer was valid only during the holy month of Ramadan which ended last month.
Uganda’s ambassador to Sudan, Betty Akech, agreed that the abductors should be prosecuted. “They are criminals and when you are a criminal you must pay for your actions,” she told The Irish Times. “Whatever action the Sudanese government takes to punish this activity, we will support because it will act like a deterrent to anyone who would like to try something like this again.”
Ms Akech worked closely with Irish ambassador Gerry Corr during efforts to secure the women’s release following their abduction from a compound in the north Darfur town of Kutum on July 3rd.
Mr Corr said it was essential that aid workers felt able to operate in Darfur without fear of kidnapping, robbery or other crimes, given the war-ravaged region’s massive humanitarian needs. “It is important that perpetrators of crimes like this be found so that banditry, hijackings and kidnappings stop,” he said. “I think the central point is that this really must not happen again.”
The Goal case was the longest-running abduction of foreign aid workers ever to take place in Darfur. No kidnappings of humanitarian personnel had taken place in the region before March, when four Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff were seized only to be released three days later.
That abduction occurred shortly after MSF found itself on a list of 13 international aid agencies ordered to leave Sudan. The expulsion order followed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes committed in Darfur.
The following month two women from French agency Aide Médicale Internationale were held for almost four weeks. The Sudanese authorities have not moved to punish those responsible for the kidnappings in March and April.
Ameerah Haq, the UN’s humanitarian co-ordinator for Sudan, said the Goal kidnapping was a reminder of the dangers faced by aid workers in the country, many of whom work at considerable personal risk.
Welcoming the women’s release, Ms Haq said: “The efforts by the Sudanese authorities and Darfurian community leaders constitutes a significant step towards ensuring that aid workers in Darfur can accomplish their humanitarian brief in a safe and secure environment.”