ICC convicts ex-Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb of war crimes in Darfur

The 27 blameworthy verdicts are the archetypal handed down by The Hague-based tribunal implicit warfare crimes successful the Sudanese portion successful the 2000s.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has recovered a commandant of a Sudanese militia blameworthy of warfare crimes and crimes against humanity for his relation successful starring attacks successful the occidental portion of Darfur much than 20 years ago.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, besides known arsenic Ali Kushayb, was convicted astatine The Hague-based tribunal connected Monday of aggregate warfare crimes and crimes against humanity – including murder, rape, torture and forcible transportation – committed from August 2003 to March 2004.

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The 27 blameworthy verdicts for the person of the government-backed militia known arsenic the Janjaweed were the archetypal ever handed down by ICC judges implicit atrocities successful Sudan’s Darfur region.

“The enclosure is convinced that the accused is blameworthy beyond tenable uncertainty of the crimes with which helium has been charged,” said Joanna Korner, the ICC presiding judge. “Its verdicts are unanimous.”

Abd-Al-Rahman volition look a sentencing proceeding astatine a aboriginal date. He is eligible for a maximum condemnation of beingness imprisonment.

‘The full municipality was connected fire’

During the trial, judges heard from 56 prosecution witnesses who described harrowing unit and the usage of rape arsenic a limb of war.

One witnesser said that during 1 attack, Abd-Al-Rahman allegedly told his fighters to “repeat” their abuses due to the fact that “maybe determination are immoderate that you person missed.”

Delivering the verdicts, Korner recounted the testimonies from witnesses, who described full villages being razed by Janjaweed militia forces and women and girls being raped by gangs of fighters successful the aftermath.

“The full municipality was connected fire. … It was beyond words to picture this,” she said, speechmaking the words of 1 witness. “After the attack, [the village] was a rubble of ashes, … corpses scattered everywhere.”

Abd-Al-Rahman had denied each the charges against him successful the trial, which opened successful April 2022, insisting the tribunal was prosecuting the incorrect man.

“I americium not Ali Kushayb. I bash not cognize this person,” helium told the tribunal astatine a proceeding successful December.

Abd-Al-Rahman fled to the Central African Republic successful February 2020 erstwhile a caller Sudanese authorities said it would cooperate with the ICC’s investigation. He said helium past handed himself successful due to the fact that helium was “desperate” and feared authorities would termination him.

Brutal conflict

Abd-Al-Rahman’s crimes were committed during the warfare that erupted successful Sudan successful 2003 erstwhile helium was commanding 1 of the Arab tribal militias that the cardinal authorities successful Khartoum outsourced to crush an equipped run by mostly non-Arab equipped groups who were rebelling against Darfur’s governmental and economical marginalisation.

Many of those Arab militias, known arsenic the Janjaweed, were aboriginal repackaged into the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been warring a civilian warfare with the Sudanese service since April 2023.

The United Nations says 300,000 radical were killed and 2.5 cardinal displaced successful the Darfur struggle successful the 2000s.

Sudan’s president astatine the time, Omar al-Bashir, is wanted by the ICC for crimes including genocide, but helium has not been handed implicit to The Hague.

The verdicts connected the decades-old warfare crimes travel arsenic akin atrocities proceed to beryllium reported successful Sudan today.

In July, the ICC’s lawman authoritative told the UN that determination were “reasonable grounds to believe” that crimes against humanity and warfare crimes were continuing successful Darfur during the ongoing civilian war.