The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Oct. 6 convicted Ali Kushayb, a former Sudanese militia chief, on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in massacres and other atrocities in Darfur region in 2003 and 2004. Guilty verdicts included for the war crimes of torture, murder and rape, as well as multiple crimes against humanity, including forcible population transfers.
The ICC Trial Chamber found that Kushayb, as a senior commander in the Janjaweed militia, played a leading role in the campaign of atrocities committed in the Darfur conflict. During the trial, the court heard from 56 witnesses who described razed villages, mass executions, and gang rapes used as weapons of war. The panel of three ICC judges unanimously found Kushayb guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Sentencing will take place at a later date, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The verdict marks the first conviction of a Darfur war crimes offender. Three other former officials are still wanted by the ICC at The Hague on war crime charges related to the Darfur conflict, including Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir, who is in Sudanese custody on separate domestic charges.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk welcomed the ruling, stating: “The convictions of Ali Kushayb represent an important acknowledgment of the enormous suffering endured by the victims of his heinous crimes, as well as a first measure of long overdue redress for them, and their loved ones.”
The Darfur conflict escalated in 2003, in response to the local insurgency of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice & Equality Movement rebel groups. To counter the insurgency, the government of Sudan recruited, funded, trained and armed members of Arab tribes as the Janjaweed militia, launching what the Court called an “all-out military campaign” against the rebels. The Janjaweed widely targeted non-Arab ethnic groups that were perceived to support the insurgency.
In March 2005, the UN Security Council mandated the ICC to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity that took place in the context of the Darfur conflict. The Rome Statute gives the ICC jurisdiction to prosecute serious international crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
From JURIST, Oct. 6. Used with permission.
Note: This now makes 13 convictions at the ICC.
See our last reports on the Ali Kushayb and Omar al-Bashir cases.
Photo via Radio Dabanga
