Amsterdam, Jun. 26, (dpa/GNA) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has found an Islamist from Mali guilty of serious war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The 46-year-old is guilty of crimes including torture, mutilation and persecution, the judges ruled in The Hague on Wednesday. The sentence will be determined at a later date.
Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud was one of the heads of the religious police of the Ansar Dine rebels, who were allied with the terrorist militia al-Qaeda, from 2012 to early 2013.
The group overran the historic desert city of Timbuktu in 2012. Women and girls in particular were victims of the terrorist regime.
The judges acquitted the accused of charges of sexual slavery and rape. They also considered the accusation of the destruction of historical buildings to be unproven.
According to the judgement, the defendant had given orders for crimes to be committed and was also involved in them.
He had also carried out judgements of the Islamist court which had been passed without due process. People were publicly flogged or beaten with sticks, for example because they had smoked or drunk alcohol. Some had their hands chopped off in public on suspicion of theft.
The man, dressed in a traditional yellow robe and white turban, watched outwardly unmoved leaning back in his chair as the judgement was handed down.
He surrendered himself to the court in 2018.
His defence lawyers argued that he had been forced to carry out orders from superiors.
The Islamists also destroyed numerous historical buildings that were protected as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. French troops temporarily drove out the militias in 2013.
Despite a year-long UN peacekeeping mission, in which the German Armed Forces were also involved, the Islamist groups, which are allied with al-Qaeda and Islamic State among others, continue to terrorize the north and centre of Mali.
Following the withdrawal of UN troops last year, Timbuktu was once again targeted by Islamists, who blocked the roads to the city for months.
This is the second case involving Mali to come before the ICC. In 2016, an ex-Islamist was sentenced to nine years in prison for the destruction of holy graves.
GNA