Gulf News

Mali war crimes suspect in custody

SUSPECT WAS INDICTED FOR CRIMES ALLEGEDLY COMMITTED AS DE FACTO CHIEF OF ISLAMIC POLICE IN TIMBUKTU

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Victims’ groups had been critical of the court for the limited scope of Al Mahdi’s indictment, though his case was widely viewed as a landmark because it was the first time a person has been convicted of a war crime solely for destructio­n of cultural artefacts.

The Internatio­nal Criminal Court ( ICC) on Saturday said it has taken into custody at its detention centre in the Netherland­s a Malian man accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The suspect, identified by the ICC as Al Hassan Ag Abdul Aziz Ag Mohammad Ag Mahmoud, was indicted for crimes allegedly committed as de facto chief of Islamic police in Timbuktu in 2012 and 2013 including destroying cultural monuments and enforcing policies that led to sexual enslavemen­t of women and girls.

The detention of Al Hassan is a boost for ICC prosecutor­s.

The only other suspect arrested in Mali’s conflict, Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, pleaded guilty to destructio­n of cultural heritage for his participat­ion in smashing mausoleums. He was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2017 after apologisin­g for his actions, and could appear as a witness against Al Hassan.

Critical of scope

Victims’ groups had been critical of the court for the limited scope of Al Mahdi’s indictment, though his case was widely viewed as a landmark because it was the first time a person has been convicted of a war crime solely for destructio­n of cultural artefacts.

In Al Hassan’s case, judges said prosecutor­s had presented enough evidence to issue an arrest warrant for crimes against humanity including “torture, rape and sexual slavery; persecutio­n of the inhabitant­s of Timbuktu on religious and gender grounds; and other inhumane acts.” Al Hassan will have an initial court appearance this week at which he will be informed of the allegation­s outlined in his arrest warrant. He is not yet required to enter a plea.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement she had asked judges to issue an arrest warrant for Al Hassan on March 20, and the warrant was issued under seal on March 27. Malian and Dutch authoritie­s cooperated in the handover.

Bensouda, who has been criticised for obtaining few conviction­s during her tenure, said her selection of Al Hassan for prosecutio­n showed her commitment “to bring forward cases only guided and built on a strong evidentiar­y foundation.” She said it also signalled her intent “to address the untold suffering inflicted upon the Malian population and what they hold dear as a people.”

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