ICC convicts Darfur militia leader Ali Kushayb of 27 war crimes and crimes against humanity
In a historic ruling—the first ICC conviction linked to the Darfur conflict—the three-judge panel found Ali guilty of planning and personally participating in atrocities committed between 2003 and 2004 as part of a government-backed campaign to crush a rebellion in western Sudan.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday convicted former Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in a wave of killings, rapes, and village attacks in Sudan’s Darfur region two decades ago.
In a historic ruling—the first ICC conviction linked to the Darfur conflict—the three-judge panel found Ali guilty of planning and personally participating in atrocities committed between 2003 and 2004 as part of a government-backed campaign to crush a rebellion in western Sudan.
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Among the charges, the court found that Ali personally ordered the summary execution of scores of detainees in March 2004 and beat two prisoners to death with an axe.
However, the ICC dismissed four additional charges, ruling that the alleged crimes were already covered under existing counts. Ali now faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with sentencing to be announced later.
Killings, rapes and destruction
"He encouraged and gave instructions that resulted in the killings, the rapes and destruction committed by the Janjaweed," Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said during the hearing, adding that the verdicts were unanimous.
According to the court, the attacks were not isolated incidents but part of a systematic campaign orchestrated by then-President Omar al-Bashir’s government to suppress dissent from non-Arab ethnic groups in Darfur.
During the two-year trial, which began in April 2022, prosecutors presented testimonies from 56 witnesses who recounted horrific acts of violence, including mass executions of prisoners, the burning of villages, and the use of rape as a weapon of war.
Ali, who appeared emotionless in court wearing a suit and listening through a headset, denied all charges and claimed he was not the man known as Ali Kushayb.
Defence rejected
Judges, however, rejected his defence, noting that he had identified himself by both his real name and nickname in a video recorded at the time of his surrender.
The former militia leader surrendered to authorities in the Central African Republic in 2020 after years in hiding before being transferred to The Hague.
The verdict comes as Darfur once again reels from violence, with the ICC warning that war crimes and crimes against humanity continue amid renewed conflict in Sudan. The original war, which began in 2003, left an estimated 300,000 people dead and displaced more than 2.7 million.
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