Sudanese military authorities have detained Ahmed Haroun, a former senior Islamist official wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for atrocities related to the Darfur conflict, according to two lawyers on his defense team.
Haroun, who served as a senior security official under former dictator Omar al-Bashir and later chaired the National Congress Party, was reportedly detained in the eastern province of Kassala. His current whereabouts are unknown, the lawyers said on condition of anonymity.
He was initially detained in April 2019 following the military ouster of al-Bashir amid a months-long uprising. Haroun and other former regime officials, some also wanted by the ICC, were held in a Khartoum prison, but the military declined to hand them over to the international court.
The Darfur conflict, which began in 2003, involved an insurgency by rebel groups from the territory's ethnic central and sub-Saharan African communities against perceived oppression by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum. The ICC has accused Haroun of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, persecution, forced population transfer, and torture in Darfur between 2003 and 2004.
Haroun has denied these charges. He had previously escaped from prison in April 2024 during the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Reasons for Haroun's latest detention were not provided. However, his lawyers suggested it may be linked to a recent podcast interview where he commented on potential alignments between his party and the military, noting a shared objective in fighting the RSF. The war, which erupted in April 2023, has been marked by widespread atrocities, including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings, which UN experts have described as potentially bearing "hallmarks of genocide," particularly in Darfur.
In the Sudan Podcast interview, Haroun discussed various topics, including al-Bashir's ouster, relationships with military and RSF leaders, proposals for Sudan's future governance, and ties with the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The RSF itself originated from the Janjaweed militias, which were mobilized by al-Bashir two decades ago.
Haroun's interview drew criticism from rights and activist groups who called for his immediate detention and handover to the ICC. The Emergency Lawyers group condemned the interview as a "legal scandal and a direct challenge to international justice," emphasizing that accountability for crimes committed in Sudan should not be compromised by political or military considerations.