[JURIST] The president of Sudan has refused to arrest or turn over two Sudanese war-crimes suspects wanted [press release] by the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website]. The ICC issued arrest warrants in April 2007 for Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Harun [TrialWatch profile; arrest warrant, PDF] and militia commander Ali Kushayb [TrialWatch profile; arrest warrant, PDF], citing 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the civilian population of the country's Darfur region [JURIST news archive]. ICC officials said Thursday that under UN Security Council Resolution 1593 [text], the Sudanese government must cooperate with the investigation even though it has failed to do so [ICC report, PDF], but the president said Friday that the government would not cooperate [VOA report] with the court because Sudan was not a party to the resolution or to the ICC. ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] told the UN Security Council last week that he will seek further indictments [statement, PDF] next month against Sudanese officials who were involved in crimes in Darfur and who have protected the criminals rather than the victims. BBC News has more.

On Wednesday, Sudan accused Moreno-Ocampo of hindering the peace process for Darfur [Reuters report] by preparing a "fictitious and vicious" case against its government officials after he said top Sudanese officials have been directly involved [JURIST report] in the planning, execution, and cover-up of atrocities committed against Darfur residents. In December 2007, Sudan rejected [JURIST report] Moreno-Ocampo's previous report to the UN Security Council, in which he condemned Sudan for failing to hand over Harun. In February 2007, Moreno-Ocampo asked the ICC to issue summonses [JURIST report] for Harun and Kushay for "jointly committed crimes against the civilian population in Darfur," and in May 2007, the ICC issued arrest warrants for the two [JURIST report].

[JURIST] Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) [party website] officials released a "charge sheet" Sunday against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf amid renewed calls from political leaders for his impeachment or outright resignation. The 10-point charge sheet [Daily Times report] details instances when Musharraf allegedly used his executive powers improperly, including November's declaration of emergency rule [PDF text] and the subsequent removal of superior court judges, including the country's Chief Justice and most of the Supreme Court. On Saturday Musharraf declared [Dawn report] that he would neither step down nor go into exile, but would concede to a parliamentary process. PML-N officials and those from coalition leader Pakistan People's Party (PPP) [party website] have disagreed [JURIST report] on how to limit or amend Musharraf's powers, with the PML-N generally favoring resignation or impeachment and the PPP - which currently dominates the governing coalition - favoring working with Musharraf to improve the country's political system. PPP officials took a stricter stance after Saturday's declaration, however, saying Musharraf is only the president by default [Daily Times report] rather than by election. Musharraf won reelection last October but the country's Supreme Court, before the declaration of emergency, was on the brink of declaring that he had been ineligible to run [JURIST return] for a third term while still army chief. AP has more.

On Tuesday, PML-N leader and former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif [JURIST news archive] called for Musharraf to be tried for treason [JURIST report], labeling him a traitor disloyal to Pakistan. Now head of the PML-N party in the country's ruling coalition government, Sharif said that Musharraf should be punished for the "damage" that he has done to Pakistan in the eight years since he led a military coup [BBC backgrounder] and unseated Sharif in 1999.