The International Criminal Court has sentenced Ahmad Al Faqi Al-Mahdi, a senior member of the Ansar Eddine armed group, to nine years imprisonment.
Al-Mahdi got the jail term for intentionally directing attacks against religious buildings and historical monuments in the northern town of Timbuktu between June and July 2012. Al-Mahdi admitted his guilt to the court. Although the ICC’s preliminary investigation found that there was a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes including murder, rape and torture had been committed in Mali since 2012, it has not issued any further arrest warrants. Domestic attempts to ensure accountability have also been limited.
The situation in Mali was referred to the ICC by the government in July 2012. The ICC commenced its investigations in January 2013, with a focus on war crimes committed in Mali since 2012.
An arrest warrant for Al-Mahdi was issued on September 18, 2015, and he was arrested in Niger and transferred to The Hague on 26 September 2015.
The charges against him were confirmed by a Pre-Trial Chamber on March 24, 2016. The trial opened on August 22 and eight victims participated in the proceedings.
This is the first guilty plea at the ICC. In the plea agreement, Al-Mahdi agreed not to appeal his conviction or sentence if it was within the range of nine to 11 years. The Malian authorities have only made very limited attempts to investigate and prosecute those responsible for serious crimes since the 2012 conflict.
Moreover, in 2015, the authorities freed at least 200 detainees, including several allegedly implicated in crimes under international law during the 2012-2013 armed conflict.
Barnabas Hunjo, Esq.
Send your press release/articles to:
info@dnllegalandstyle.com ,Follow us on Twitter at @dnlpartners and Facebook at Facebook.com/Dnl-partners