ICC sentences Sudan militia-leading ‘axeman’ Rahman to 20 years

The conviction, related to actions successful 2003 and 2004, was the ICC’s archetypal regarding crimes committed successful Darfur. The portion is present suffering further owed to war.

The International Criminal Court has sentenced a erstwhile person of the Janjaweed militia to 20 years successful situation for committing atrocities successful Sudan’s Darfur region.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, 76, besides known arsenic Ali Kushayb, was sentenced connected Tuesday pursuing his condemnation successful October for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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This is the archetypal clip the ICC has convicted a fishy of crimes successful Darfur, a portion that is erstwhile again seeing wide atrocities amid a vicious civilian war, between the government-linked Sudanese service and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which traces its origins backmost to the Janjaweed militia.

The tribunal had unanimously convicted Kushayb connected 31 counts, including attacks against civilians, murder, torture, rape, pillaging, demolition of property, persecution, and forcible transportation of population between 2003 and 2004.

‘Extermination, humiliation and displacement’

Abd-Al-Rahman was a starring subordinate of Sudan’s infamous Janjaweed militia who participated “actively” successful aggregate warfare crimes during the civilian war, the tribunal found.

Judge Joanna Korner who passed the condemnation said helium had “personally perpetrated” beatings, including with an axe, and fixed orders for executions.

She cited victims who said helium had carried retired a “campaign of extermination, humiliation and displacement”.

Abd-Al-Rahman had consistently denied during his proceedings being a high-ranking authoritative successful the Janjaweed militia, a mostly Arab paramilitary unit equipped by the Sudanese authorities to termination chiefly Black African tribes successful Darfur.

He insisted from the opening of his proceedings successful April 2022 that helium is “not Ali Kushayb” and that the tribunal had the incorrect antheral – an statement rejected by the judges.

Prosecutors had called for a beingness sentence, noting that among his crimes, Abd-Al-Rahman killed 2 radical with an axe.

“You virtually person an axe murderer earlier you. This is the worldly of nightmares,” authoritative Julian Nicholls said astatine a pre-sentencing hearing.

Defence lawyers had asked for a seven-year jailhouse term.

The tribunal noted that the clip Abd al-Rahman has spent successful detention – from the day of his surrender connected June 9, 2020, until the day of the judgement – volition beryllium deducted from his sentence.

Horror has returned to Darfur, with the latest struggle displacing millions of radical and creating a heavy humanitarian situation (File: Reuters)

‘Desperate’

Fighting broke retired successful the Darfur portion successful the 2000s, erstwhile non-Arab tribes, complaining of systematic discrimination, took up arms against the Arab-dominated government.

Khartoum responded by unleashing the Janjaweed, a unit present known arsenic the Popular Defence Forces and drawn from among the region’s nomadic tribes.

The United Nations says 300,000 radical were killed and 2.5 cardinal much were displaced successful the conflict.

Abd-Al-Rahman had fled to the Central African Republic successful February 2020, erstwhile a caller Sudanese authorities announced its volition to 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.

The Darfur portion has suffered further since a civilian warfare betwixt the military-run authorities and RSF erupted successful April 2023.

Both sides are accused of committing atrocities – though chiefly the RSF – and millions person been displaced and are astatine hazard of famine, creating an urgent humanitarian crisis.

The RSF took afloat power of Darfur successful November, from wherever it is present trying to propulsion eastwards into cardinal Sudan.