International Criminal Court convicts Malian man of war crimes and crimes against humanity 

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — The International Criminal Court on Wednesday convicted the former head of the Islamic police force in Timbuktu Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud of war crimes and crimes against humanity for mistreating prisoners and religious persecution.

“Al Hassan has been found guilty by majority decision of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity,” Presiding Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua said, reading out the verdict in French.

Al Hassan remained passive while the decision was announced, wearing a stark white tagelmust, the traditional head covering for Tuareg men, and a yellow robe with gold detailing. He was convicted of eight charges and acquitted of five.

The 47-year-old plead not guilty to all of the charges when the trial opened in 2020.

The judge stressed that the conviction was not a condemnation of Islamic law, but rather of the crimes committed by Ansar Dine, an Islamic extremist group with links to al-Qaida, which took control of northern Mali in 2012

“The inhabitants had no other choice but to adapt their lives and lifestyles to conform to the interpretation of Islamic Sharia law … imposed on them by the force of arms,” said the Congolese judge.

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.

Al Hassan was the first defendant before the court where gender-based violence undergirds the bulk of his charges but the three-judge panel said there was insufficient evidence to connect him to those crimes.

He was acquitted of rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage, as well as destroying protected objects. The ruling found that many women were abused while Ansar Dine was in power but it wasn’t proven that he was responsible for the atrocities.

He was also acquitted of destroying protected objects. The group destroyed mosques and other religious sites of denominations in Islam they disagreed with, including breaking down the doors of the Sidi Yahya Mosque in 2012.

Another man, Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, pleaded guilty before the court in 2016 for destroying cultural sites and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Last week, the court unsealed an arrest warrant for another Malian man, Iyad Ghaly, also for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors say he was the leader of the Islamic group and oversaw murder, torture and rape.

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. They were forced out by French troops in 2013.

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.

Follow @mollyquell