ICC convicts jihadist police chief for war crimes in Mali
A 46-year-old Al Hassan played a "key role" during a brief power takeover by Islamists of the groups Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda in Timbuktu, and oversaw Amputations and Floggings as Police Chief, stated the President Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua. The accused contributed to the crimes committed by other members of the Jihadist groups, including mutilation and persecution.
Dressed in a yellow tunic and a white headcover, Al Hassan followed the verdict pronouncement expressionlessly with tightened arms. The sentence will be announced by the court shortly.
The oasis city of Timbuktu, numbering among UNESCO World Heritage Sites, was founded between the fifth and twelfth centuries by Tuareg tribes and is known as the "Pearl of the Desert." In 2012, fighters of the Islamic groups Al-Qaeda and Ansar Dine exploited a Tuareg rebellion to seize Timbuktu.
A whole series of famous mausoleums of Muslim saints were destroyed then. The civilian population suffered under a reign of terror. This terror was ended in 2013 by an intervention of the French and Malian militaries.
- In Mali, during the Islamic groups Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda's temporary power takeover in Timbuktu, Al Hassan, recognized as the Chief of Police, oversaw acts of torture, amputations, and floggings.
- As the Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua stated, Al Hassan was instrumental in certain war crimes committed by the Islamists of Ansar Dine and Al-Qaida, particularly involving mutilation and persecution.
- Aday, clad in a yellow tunic and white headcover, Al Hassan showed no emotion as the verdict was announced, his arms tightly crossed.
- The ICC is expected to announce the sentence for Al Hassan, who played a crucial role in the Jihadist regime's atrocities against humanity in Timbuktu.
- Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site established by Tuareg tribes between the 5th and 12th centuries, served as a refuge for Muslims and is now known as the "Pearl of the Desert."
- Fighters of the Islamic groups Al-Qaeda and Ansar Dine infiltrated Timbuktu during a Tuareg rebellion in 2012, leading to the destruction of numerous famous mausoleums of Muslim saints, and inflicting a reign of terror on its civilian population, which was eventually lifted by the French and Malian militaries' intervention in 2013.
