THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court on Wednesday convicted an al-Qaida-linked extremist leader of the religious persecution and torture of prisoners in Mali in 2012-13 when he headed the Islamic police in the historic desert city of Timbuktu.
Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud sat stoically while the decision finding him guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity was read out at the court in the Dutch city of The Hague. He faces up to life in prison when the sentence is decided at a later date.
Al Hassan was acquitted of several charges focusing on the abuse of women. The three-judge panel found that rape and sexual slavery did occur while Al Hassan's group controlled Timbuktu, but that Al Hassan couldn’t be connected to those crimes.
The court found the 47-year old Malian was a key member of Ansar Dine, an Islamic extremist group with links to al-Qaida that held power at the time.
“The inhabitants had no other choice than to adapt their lives and lifestyle to the version of Sharia law imposed on them by Ansar Dine,” presiding judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua said, speaking in French.
Judges agreed there was sufficient evidence to convict Al Hassan of charges including torture, outrages upon personal dignity and cruel treatment. They found that prisoners were abused by being kept in tiny, disgusting cells and repeatedly flogged.
“Al Hassan himself inflicted at least 34 and 37 lashes" on two male victims, the Congolese judge said.
Defense lawyer Melinda Taylor told judges during the trial that Al Hassan's position in the Islamic police force obliged him to respect and carry out decisions made by an Islamic tribunal. "This is what the police around the world do," Taylor said.
Women and girls suffered in particular under Ansar...
