ICC sentences Sudan militia leader to 20 years for Darfur atrocities News
Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
ICC sentences Sudan militia leader to 20 years for Darfur atrocities

The International Criminal Court (ICC) handed down a 20-year prison sentence on Tuesday to former Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, was found guilty of 27 counts, including murder, rape, torture, persecution and pillaging. The sentencing marks a significant legal milestone, as Abd-Al-Rahman is the first person to be convicted by the ICC for the mass atrocities committed in Darfur in 2003 and 2004.

Presiding Judge Joanna Korner delivered the sentence at The Hague, emphasizing that Abd-Al-Rahman “personally perpetrated” violence against civilians, including beating prisoners with an axe. While noting that the maximum penalty under the Rome Statute is 30 years or life imprisonment, the Chamber considered mitigating factors, including the defendant’s voluntary surrender to the court in 2020, his advanced age of 76, and his cooperation during detention.

Prosecutors had requested a life sentence, arguing that Abd-Al-Rahman was a “willing and energetic” participant in a “campaign of extermination” against the members of the Fur ethnicity. Prosecutor Julian Nicholls argued: “You literally have an axe murderer before you. This is the stuff of nightmares. He committed these crimes knowingly, willfully, and with, the evidence shows, enthusiasm and vigor.”

The court ruled that the time Abd-Al-Rahman has already served in detention since his transfer to ICC custody in June 2020 will be deducted from his 20-year sentence. Both the defense and the prosecution have 30 days to appeal the sentence. The court also announced that a phase dedicated to victim reparations will now open.

Abd-Al-Rahman’s conviction stands in contrast to the status of other high-profile suspects in the Darfur situation, including former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who remains at large despite outstanding ICC arrest warrants for genocide and war crimes.

The sentencing comes as Sudan faces a renewed and devastating civil war that erupted in April 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti), evolved directly from the Janjaweed militias that Abd-Al-Rahman once commanded. International observers have warned that the current conflict has reignited ethnically motivated violence in Darfur, mirroring the atrocities of the early 2000s, The UN reports that millions remain displaced in what has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

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