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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — The International Criminal Court on Wednesday handed down a 10-year sentence to the former head of the Islamic police force in Timbuktu for mistreating prisoners and religious persecution.
The Hague-based court convicted Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud in June of multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity during a year of terror in the West African nation.
The crimes “impacted all aspects of life for the people of Timbuktu,” presiding Judge Kimberly Prost told the crowded courtroom.
The 47-year-old was the de facto leader of the police force in the ancient city, implementing strict religious rules after large parts of Mali fell to Islamic separatist groups following a 2012 coup. A French-led military force ultimately forced them from power in 2013.
Wearing a stark white tagelmust, the traditional head and face covering of Tuareg men, Al Hassan listened to the pronouncement without affect.
Cities in the western African country, including Timbuktu, were overrun by separatists, who in turn succumbed to Islamist groups that enforced strict religious rules, including banning music, forcing women to wear headscarves and destroying non-Muslim religious sites. The charges against Al Hassan date from April 2012 until January 2013.
During the trial, prosecutors showed a video of a much-younger Al Hassan describing the activities of the police, including floggings and beatings for residents who refused to comply with the religious rules.
Lead defense lawyer Melinda Taylor argued that her client was simply a member of the police, who was responsible for enforcing decisions of the Islamic court. “He was obliged to respect and execute the decisions of the Islamic tribunal. This is what the police around the world do,” she told the court in May 2022.
When Al Hassan first appeared before the court in 2019, he refused to enter a plea. Defense lawyers say their client is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of torture at the hands of Malian authorities, but the court has pressed on with the proceedings, which opened in 2021.
His sentence will be reduced by his time served, but only since Al Hassan has been in ICC custody. He was arrested in Mali in 2017 and the national government turned him over the ICC in March 2018. The defense argued his time in domestic detention should also be taken into account, but the judges refused.
Al Hassan is the second person to be charged with crimes relating to the conflict in Mali. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2016 for destroying religious monuments in Mali.
The French withdrew in 2021, following a series of coups. The current government of Assimi Goïta has brought in Russian mercenary forces to police the population.
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