ICC Delivers First Trial Judgment in Darfur Situation, Finds Janjaweed Leader Guilty Of War Crimes And Crimes Against Humanity

Two decades on from a scorched earth campaign that left thousands dead in Sudan’s Darfur, the International Criminal Court (ICC) this week handed down its first conviction linked to the conflict.

Former Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman “Ali Kushayb” was found guilty on 27 counts for his part in attacks against the Fur, Masalit and other non-Arab communities between August 2003 and March 2004 in West Darfur. The judgement, handed down to wrap up what a United Nations (UN) statement said was a lengthy trial, included charges of murder, rape, persecution, torture and attacks on civilians in Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar and Deleig.

In a 355-page ruling, Presiding Judge Joanna Korner and Judges Reine Alapini-Gansou and Althea Violet Alexis-Windsor concluded beyond reasonable doubt he ordered, supported and participated in widespread and systematic terror attacks leading to mass killings and forced displacement.

The Janjaweed – Arab militias armed and supported by Sudan’s security forces – were part of Khartoum’s campaign to crush a rebellion by non-Arab groups in 2003. Villages were razed, men summarily executed and women raped in what the UN later described as one of the gravest humanitarian crises of the early 21st century.

Among the evidence presented was testimony describing how Janjaweed fighters “killed the inhabitants of the town indiscriminately” firing on people fleeing for their lives.

Another account recalled a wounded father who urged his children to “leave him behind and save themselves” as the militia advanced.

Ali Kushayb surrendered to the ICC in 2020 shortly after the fall of Sudan’s long-time leader Omar al-Bashir, after evading authorities for over 12 years.

Sentencing will follow and the judgment can be appealed. A reparations phase for victims will also be opened.

The conviction marks a number of milestones for international justice including being the first ICC verdict in the Darfur situation, the first case referred by the UN Security Council (UNSC) in resolution 1593 (2005) to result in conviction, and the first ever ICC conviction for gender-based persecution.

The ICC Prosecutor’s Office continues to pursue other outstanding warrants for Bashir, former Interior Minister Ahmad Harun and ex-Defence Minister Abdel Raheem Hussein – all accused of similar crimes.

Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan hailed the verdict as “a crucial step toward closing the impunity gap in Darfur,” adding it “sends a resounding message to perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan, past and present, justice will prevail”. The judgment, according to her “is a tribute to the bravery of thousands of Darfuri victims who hoped and fought for justice through the years.”

@DefenceWeb, excluding the headline