By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
ICC Drops Heavy Judgment on Notorious Darfur Militia Commander
The International Criminal Court has sentenced former Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, to 20 years in prison for his role in widespread atrocities carried out during the Darfur conflict more than two decades ago.
The judgment, delivered in The Hague on Tuesday, follows his October conviction on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The charges stem from brutal attacks in 2003 and 2004, a period marked by mass killings, village raids and systematic violence across Sudan’s Darfur region.
Prosecutors had pressed for a life sentence, arguing that Abd-Al-Rahman not only commanded operations that led to mass executions but also personally participated in acts of extreme violence.
The court found him responsible for, among other crimes, ordering executions and killing two detainees with an axe.
At his sentencing hearing, prosecutor Julian Nicholls said the evidence showed that Abd-Al-Rahman committed the crimes “knowingly and willingly,” and often with clear enthusiasm. Abd-Al-Rahman, now 76, remained expressionless as Presiding Judge Joanna Korner read the court’s decision.
His conviction marks one of the most significant ICC rulings relating to the Darfur conflict, during which hundreds of thousands were killed and millions displaced after Sudanese government-backed militias launched attacks against
non-Arab communities.
The case is viewed as a rare step toward accountability for crimes committed during the early 2000s, when the Janjaweed militia gained international notoriety for its role in the violence.
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