A torture survivor's response to the ICC

Local Man Reacts to Charges Against Sudanese President

March 4, 2009 06:08 PM EST

By Marci Izard

AMHERST, Mass. (Abc40)-- On Wednesday, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The news has comes as a relief to Amherst resident Mohamed Elgadi.

Elgadi arrested in Khartoum, Sudan in 1992 for his human rights work. Government officials held -and tortured him- for four months.
"It's a long time but it's still painful. They did everything from electric shocks...beating ... everything, including rape," he says.
Elgadi was finally released under the condition that he work as a Government informant. He consented - then fled.
He and his family have lived in the United States for over fifteen years but they still are active in the fight for justice in Sudan. He says the atrocities in Darfur have put an international spotlight on the violence, which he says, is going on across the country.