The Hague, Netherlands – Two decades after the United Nations Security Council referred the case to the International Criminal Court, the international court has found a Sudanese militia commander guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the brutal conflict in the nation’s western region, Darfur.
Based on the statement released by the ICC Office of the Prosecutor yesterday, ICC’s Trial Chamber 1 unanimously convicted beyond reasonable doubt Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Backed up by the claim of 81 witnesses and nearly 1,900 pieces of evidence submitted by the ICC Prosecutors.
Abd-Al-Rahman was particularly convicted on crimes against murder, torture, gender based-persecution and rape, and the forcible transfer of civilians.
According to the court ruling between August 2003 and April 2004, Abd-Al-Rahman led the Janjaweed militia, a pro-government armed group that carried out systematic attacks on non-Arab villages in western Sudan.
The said war erupted in 2003 when rebel groups accused Sudan’s government of discrimination against non-Arab tribes.
The government responded by mobilizing the Janjaweed militia, resulting in an estimated 300,000 deaths and the displacement of more than 2.5 million people according to UN.
Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said Abd-Al-Rahman directly ordered and personally participated in executions and mass killings during operations.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan called the verdict a powerful message that perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan will be held accountable.
The court will determine his sentence after a new round of hearings in November as the Prosecutors prepare their sentencing arguments.