International Criminal Court investigation in Mali

Last updated
Situation in the Republic of Mali
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The seal of the International Criminal Court
File no.01/12
Referred byMali
Date referred13 July 2012
Date opened16 January 2013
Incident(s) Northern Mali conflict
CrimesWar crimes:
· Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion
· Destruction of cultural world heritage in the Malian city of Timbuktu
Status of suspects
Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi Served a 7 year sentence
al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Convicted
Iyad Ag Ghaly Fugitive

The International Criminal Court investigation in Mali or the Situation in the Republic of Mali is an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into war crimes and other crimes within the ICC's jurisdiction that are alleged to have occurred during the Northern Mali conflict since January 2012. [1] The investigation was requested by the government of Mali in July 2012. [2] [1] [3] [4] As the first person who pleaded guilty to a charge of the ICC, Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi made a statement expressing remorse and advising others not to commit similar acts. [5]

Contents

On 27 September 2016, al-Mahdi was sentenced to nine years in prison for the destruction of cultural world heritage in the Malian city of Timbuktu. At least nine mausoleums and one mosque were destroyed. [6] On 26 June 2024, al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz was found guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes. [7]

Background

Several human rights organisations reported on human rights abuses during the Northern Mali conflict that started in early 2012. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its Malian member organisation Association Malienne des Droits de l'Homme (AMDH) [8] published a detailed report [9] in December 2012, referring to evidence of a rape campaign in Gao and Timbuktu after their takeover by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), recruitment of 12- to 15-year-old children as child soldiers by Ansar Dine, and the summary execution of up to 153 Malian soldiers by the MNLA and Ansar Dine on 24 January 2012. [10] Human Rights Watch reported the use of "several hundred" child soldiers by the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). [11] Amnesty International published a detailed report in May 2012, [12] describing the human rights situation as "Mali's worst human rights situation in 50 years". [13]

Referral

On 13 July 2012, the government of Mali, represented by its Minister of Justice Malick Coulibaly, made a formal request to the ICC to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity that took place in Mali since January 2012. [2] [3] [4]

Investigation

The ICC's Office of the Prosecutor gathered evidence, and on 16 January 2013, the Court formally started a full investigation led by Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. [1] Bensouda has determined that there is a reasonable basis to believe the following crimes were committed during the conflict: (i) murder; (ii) mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (iii) intentionally directing attacks against protected objects; (iv) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court; (v) pillaging, and (vi) rape. [1] The 16 January 2013 ICC report [14] listed evidence for suspected crimes that include some attributed to the MNLA, such as the executions at Aguelhok of about 100 Malian army soldiers on 24 January 2012, [15] and some attributed to the Malian army, such as the Diabaly September 2012 massacre of 16 unarmed preachers. [16]

Cases

Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi

On 18 September 2015, the court issued an arrest warrant for Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, who was accused of the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, specifically the mausoleums and mosques located in Timbuktu. They were destroyed by members of Ansar Dine and other Islamist groups in 2012.

On 26 September 2015, he was sent from Niger to the court's detention center in The Hague. [17] On 27 September 2016, al-Mahdi was sentenced to nine years in prison for the destruction of cultural world heritage in the Malian city of Timbuktu. [6]

Al Hassan

Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, born on 19 September 1977, was allegedly a member of Ansar Dine and the de facto chief of the Islamic Police. He has also been allegedly involved in the work of the Islamic court in Timbuktu and in executing its decisions. [18]

Al Hassan was charged for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Timbuktu, Mali, for allegedly participating in a widespread and systematic attack by armed groups against the civilian population of Timbuktu and its region, between 1 April 2012 and 28 January 2013. [19] He is also being charged for war crimes allegedly committed in Timbuktu, Mali, between April 2012 and January 2013. [20]

On 26 June 2024, al-Hassan was found guilty. [7]

Iyad Ag Ghaly

On 18 July 2017, the court issued an arrest warrant under seal for Iyad Ag Ghaly, accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Timbuktu between 2012 and 2013 as the leader of Ansar Dine. The warrant was made public on 21 June 2024. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azawad</span> Tuareg name for a territory in northern Mali

Azawad, or Azawagh, was a short-lived unrecognised state lasting between 2012 and 2013. Azawagh (Azawaɣ) is the generic Tuareg Berber name for all Tuareg Berber areas, especially the northern half of Mali and northern and western Niger. The Azawadi declaration of independence was declared unilaterally by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in 2012, after a Tuareg rebellion drove the Malian Armed Forces from the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidi Yahya Mosque</span> Mosque and madrassa in Timbuktu, Mali

The Sidi Yahya Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Muhammad-n-Allah, is a mosque and madrasa of Timbuktu in Mali. The construction of the mosque began in 1400 under the leadership of Sheikh el-Mokhtar Hamalla of Timbuktu and was finished in 1440.

Association Malienne des Droits de l'Homme (AMDH) is a Malian non-profit human rights non-governmental organization founded in Bamako, Mali on 11 December 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People detained by the International Criminal Court</span>

People detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC) are held in the ICC's detention centre, which is located within a Dutch prison in Scheveningen, The Hague. The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. As of June 2018, it has issued public arrest warrants for 42 individuals, six of whom are currently in custody of the court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuareg rebellion (2012)</span> Early stage of the Mali War

The 2012 Tuareg rebellion was the early phase of the Mali War; from January to April 2012, a war was waged against the Malian government by rebels with the goal of attaining independence for the northern region of Mali, known as Azawad. It was led by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and was part of a series of insurgencies by traditionally nomadic Tuaregs which date back at least to 1916. The MNLA was formed by former insurgents and a significant number of heavily armed Tuaregs who fought in the Libyan Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad</span> Militant group in Northern Mali (2011–present)

The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad or the Azawad National Liberation Movement, formerly the National Movement of Azawad, is a militant organization based in northern Mali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansar Dine</span> Militant Islamist organization in Mali

Ansar Dine, meaning "helpers of the religion" (Islam) and also known as Ansar al-Din, was a Salafi jihadist group led by Iyad Ag Ghaly. Ansar Dine sought to impose absolute sharia across Mali. The group took over the city of Timbuktu in 2012, which prompted the French-led intervention, Operation Serval.

Iyad Ag Ghaly, also known as Abū al-Faḍl, is a Tuareg Islamist militant from Mali's Kidal Region. He has been active in Tuareg rebellions against the Malian government since the 1980s – particularly in the early 1990s. In 1988, he founded the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. In the latest episode of the Tuareg upheavals in 2012, he featured as the founder and leader of the Islamist militant group Ansar Dine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Gao</span> Battle between MNLA and MOJWA in Gao, Mali

The Battle of Gao was fought between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the Islamist Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), along with its ally Ansar Dine, in Gao between 26–28 June 2012. By the 28 June, Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, the three biggest cities in the disputed secessionist region of Azawad within what is recognised as Malian territory, were under the control of Ansar Dine and its Islamist allies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mali War</span> Armed conflict in Mali that started in January 2012

The Mali War is an ongoing conflict that started in January 2012 between the northern and southern parts of Mali in Africa. On 16 January 2012, several insurgent groups began fighting a campaign against the Malian government for independence or greater autonomy for northern Mali, which they called Azawad. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), an organization fighting to make this area of Mali an independent homeland for the Tuareg people, had taken control of the region by April 2012.

The Battle of Aguelhok occurred when rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and Islamists groups Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb attacked a Malian army garrison base in the town of Aguelhok, Kidal Region of Northern Mali on 17 January 2012, as part of the larger Tuareg rebellion to seize all government bases in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Mali War</span>

The following is a timeline of major events during the Northern Mali conflict.

The Battle of In Khalil took place on 22–23 February 2013 and was part of the first stage of the Mali War.

Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi was a member of Ansar Dine, a Tuareg Islamist militia in North Africa. Al-Mahdi admitted guilt in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2016 for the war crime of attacking religious and historical buildings in the Malian city of Timbuktu. Al-Mahdi was the first person convicted by the ICC for such a crime, and in general the first individual to ever be prosecuted solely on the basis of cultural crimes. He was sentenced to nine years in prison. On 25 November 2021, his sentence was commuted to 7 years in prison, and he was released on 18 September 2022.

The battle of In Emsal took place during the Tuareg rebellion of 2012. On 20 January, a Malian military convoy that came to rescue the garrison of Aguelhoc was ambushed by rebels of MLNA, and terrorists of Ansar Dine and AQIM.

The first battle of Kidal took place during the Mali war. On 30 March 2012, the city was captured by rebel MNLA and Ansar Dine forces.

The Fall of Timbuktu took place during the war in northern Mali. It was one of the first clashes between the MNLA and Ansar Dine, and led to the latter taking control of the city in June 2012.

Al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud is a Malian Islamist militant and convicted war criminal who joined Ansar Dine in early 2012 and became an interpreter and administrator of the Islamic police in Timbuktu during the Northern Mali conflict. Al-Hassan was tried in the International Criminal Court on the charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes carried out during 2012 and 2013, including rape and sexual slavery under Article 8 2.(e)(vi) of the Rome Statute of the ICC. He was convicted on 26 June 2024.

The Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA) was a short-lived rebel group advocating for Azawadian autonomy under Islamic law. The group was founded by Alghabass Ag Intalla, and emerged after a split from Ansar Dine following French intervention in northern Mali. The MIA was founded in January 2013, and merged into the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) on May 19, 2013.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "ICC Prosecutor opens investigation into war crimes in Mali: "The legal requirements have been met. We will investigate"". International Criminal Court. 2013-01-16. Archived from the original on 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  2. 1 2 Coulibaly, Malick (2012-07-13). "Renvoi de la situation au Mali" (PDF) (in French). Ministry of Justice of Mali. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-12-22. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  3. 1 2 "FIDH and AMDH welcome the opening of an ICC investigation in Mali". International Federation for Human Rights. 2013-02-13. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  4. 1 2 "Mali: ICC investigation of conflict crimes a key step towards justice". Amnesty International. 2013-01-16. Archived from the original on 2013-03-03. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  5. ↑ Calamur, Krishnadev (2016-08-22). "Repenting for the Cultural Destruction of Timbuktu". The Atlantic . Retrieved 2016-08-22.
  6. 1 2 Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi: The vandal of Timbuktu, BBC News (September 27, 2016).
  7. 1 2 "ICC convicts Mali Islamist for Timbuktu atrocities". Reuters. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  8. ↑ "Association Malienne des Droits de l'Homme (AMDH)". International Federation for Human Rights. 2013-01-21. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  9. ↑ "War Crimes in North Mali" (PDF). International Federation for Human Rights. 2012-12-17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  10. ↑ "War Crimes in North Mali". International Federation for Human Rights. 2012-12-20. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  11. ↑ "Mali: Islamists Should Free Child Soldiers - 'Sending our Innocents to be Slaughtered,' Witness Says". Human Rights Watch. 2013-01-15. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  12. ↑ "Mali: five months of crisis - armed rebellion and military coup" (PDF). Amnesty International. 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  13. ↑ "Mali's worst human rights situation in 50 years". Amnesty International. 2012-05-16. Archived from the original on 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  14. ↑ "Situation in Mali - Article 53(1) Report" (PDF). International Criminal Court. 2013-01-16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-16. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  15. ↑ "Tuareg rebels behind January killings, confirms Mali army". Radio France International. 13 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  16. ↑ Massacre of preachers in Mali sign of broken army, Associated Press, 22 September 2012, archived from the original on 25 January 2013, retrieved 14 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "Timbuktu mausoleum destruction suspect sent to ICC". BBC News. 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  18. ↑ "Situation in the Republic of Mali - Questions and Answers" (PDF). ICC Official Website. ICC. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Situation in the Republic of Mali - Questions and Answers" (PDF). ICC Official Website. ICC. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Situation in the Republic of Mali - Questions and Answers" (PDF). ICC Official Website. ICC. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Situation in Mali: ICC unseals arrest warrant against Iyad Ag Ghaly". International Criminal Court. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
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