Hague court dismisses charges against Sudan rebel

By Aaron Gray-Block

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court dismissed charges against a Sudanese rebel leader on Monday, ruling against allegations he helped orchestrate the killing of 12 African Union peacekeepers in Darfur in 2007.

The war crimes court threw out the charges against Abu Garda after a pre-trial chamber ruled he could not be held criminally responsible for intentionally directing the attack.

"The chamber is not satisfied that there are substantial grounds to believe that Mr Abu Garda can be held criminally responsible as either a direct or indirect co-perpetrator," the court said in its ruling.

The first Sudanese rebel to appear before the court in The Hague, Abu Garda denied all charges when he voluntarily attended a hearing in October to determine if he should face trial over the attack on the AU peacekeeping base.

He was one of three Sudanese rebels wanted in connection with the attack. The prosecution plans to appeal the ruling, a spokeswoman said.

The ICC has also issued an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Khartoum said Monday's ruling showed the court was biased against the Sudanese government and was seeking to undermine the peace process.

"This is what is expected from the ICC. The ICC is not hostile against the rebels in Darfur but against the government," Sudanese information ministry official Rabie Abdelati told Reuters.