The Hague, Netherlands – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has unanimously sentenced a senior Janjaweed militia leader to 20 years in prison for atrocities committed during the Darfur conflict in western Sudan.
ICC Trial Chamber I Judges on Tuesday handed down the sentence to Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman.
It can be recalled that this case was first referred to the ICC by the United Nations Security Council last 2005.
But just last October, the international court had formally convicted him on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, rape, persecution, and the forcible transfer of civilians.
According to the ICC Trial Chamber, the 76-year old not only ordered the attacks—
but also personally carried out some of the killings, but the Defence argued it as a mistaken identity.
The crimes were committed between 2003 and 2004, when he led the Janjaweed — a pro-government Arab militia that carried out systematic attacks on non-Arab villages in Darfur.
At the same time, rebel groups accused Sudan’s government of discriminating against non-Arab tribes.
The government responded by mobilizing the Janjaweed, which the United Nations says resulted in an estimated 300,000 deaths and the displacement of more than 2.5 million people.
The ICC Prosecution and Abd-Al-Rahman’s Defence team may appeal the sentence within 30 days.