Representational file photo
The Hague: The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday convicted a feared Sudanese militia chief for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during brutal attacks in Darfur.
The ICC found Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known by the nom de guerre Ali Kushayb, guilty of multiple crimes including rape, murder and torture carried out between August 2003 and at least April 2004.
"The chamber is convinced that the accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crimes with which he has been charged," said ICC president judge Joanna Korner.
The sentence will be pronounced at a later date, she said. Hearings would be held on November 17-21, with a decision issued "in due course" afterwards.
The bespectacled Abd-Al-Rahman, wearing a blue suit and waistcoat with a scarlet tie, followed the proceedings impassively, occasionally taking notes.
Korner detailed harrowing accounts of gang rapes, abuse, and mass killing.
She said that on one occasion, Abd-Al-Rahman loaded around 50 civilians onto trucks, beating some with axes, before making them lie on the ground and ordering his troops to shoot them dead.
"The accused was not only giving orders... but was personally involved in the beatings and later was physically present and giving orders for the execution of those detained," said Korner.
Abd-Al-Rahman was a leading member of Sudan's infamous Janjaweed militia, who participated "actively" in multiple war crimes, she said.
The militiaman, who was born around 1949, had denied all the charges, telling the court they had got the wrong man.
"I am not Ali Kushayb. I do not know this person... I have nothing to do with the accusations against me," he said at a hearing in December 2024.
But Korner said the court was "satisfied that the accused was the person known ... as Ali Kushayb", dismissing defence witnesses who had denied that.
Abd-Al-Rahman fled to the Central African Republic in February 2020 when a new Sudanese government announced its intention to cooperate with the ICC's investigation.
