An extremist leader with ties to al-Qaida was sentenced to ten years in jail by the International Criminal Court on Wednesday for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed while leading the Islamic police in Timbuktu, a historic desert city in Mali.
In June, it was decided that Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud had committed torture, religious persecution, and other cruel crimes.
After Timbuktu was overrun by Islamic extremist rebels in 2012, judges determined that he was a “key figure” in a reign of terror.
Dressed head to toe in white traditional robes, Al Hassan was expressionless as he listened to the sentence being read out.
The 48-year-old was a member of Ansar Dine, an Islamic extremist group linked to al-Qaida that held power in northern Mali at the time, and served as the ancient city’s police chief.
A French-led military operation in 2013 forced the group from power, but rebel elements have continued to stage attacks on Malian and international forces.
Many human rights groups were disappointed when Al Hassan was cleared of various allegations relating to women’s mistreatment. The three-judge panel determined that rape and sexual slavery occurred while his organization occupied Timbuktu, but Al Hassan could not be linked to those crimes.
The court determined that there was sufficient evidence to convict Al Hassan of offenses such as torture, violations of human dignity, and cruel treatment. They discovered that captives were abused by being kept in small, dirty cells and repeatedly flogged.
Both sides have appealed.
Al Hassan denied being guilty. During the trial, his defense counsel, Melinda Taylor, informed the judges that Al Hassan’s position in the Islamic police force required him to respect and carry out the rulings of an Islamic tribunal. “This is what police officers around the world do,” Taylor added.
The 10-year sentence will be reduced with time served. Al Hassan has been in ICC custody since March 2018, with approximately 3.5 years remaining.
The trial is the second at the ICC involving Ansar Dine’s harsh seizure of Timbuktu. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, another member of the group, was found guilty in 2016 and sentenced to nine years in prison for damaging nine mausoleums and a mosque door in the city in 2012.
For more than a decade, Mali and its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger have been fighting an insurgency fought by armed groups, some of which are affiliated with al-Qaida or the Islamic State organization.
Following recent military coups in all three countries, the ruling juntas evacuated French forces and instead relied on Russia’s mercenary groups for protection.
An Australian mining company stated on Tuesday that it would pay $160 million to the country’s ruling junta to resolve a tax issue, more than a week after its CEO and two workers were jailed.
The arrest is the latest controversy in Mali’s foreign-dominated and vital mining sector, which the military is increasingly scrutinizing. In September, four employees from a Canadian company were detained.
