Prosecutors demand life as ICC prepares to sentence Sudan ‘axe murderer’

A Sudanese militia leader who was found guilty of crimes against humanity during the country’s previous civil war more than 20 years ago has been sentenced to life in prison.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (also known as Ali Kushayb), whose sentencing hearing was set for Tuesday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) heard.

The prosecutor’s request was made the day before for the “enthusiastic, energetic, and effective perpetrator of abuses carried out in the western Darfur region.”

According to the prosecution, Abd-Al-Rahman used an axe to kill two people among his crimes.

As Abd-Al-Rahman watched, Nicholls remarked to the judges in The Hague, “You literally have an axe murderer before you.” Only a life sentence will serve the purpose of retribution and deterrence, according to the statement.

The defense attorneys for Abd-Al-Rahman will make their case public on Tuesday and Wednesday during hearings on the request for a seven-year jail term.

Abd-Al-Rahman was found guilty last month of leading the government-backed Janjaweed militia forces in the Darfur region of western Sudan on a killing and destruction campaign between 2003 and 2004 and serving in a total of 27 counts, including mass murders and rapes.

Darfur, a region that is once again witnessing widespread atrocities amid a protracted civil war, was the first instance in which the ICC had found a suspect guilty of crimes.

Wrong man

Abd-Al-Rahman has consistently denied being a senior member of the Sudanese government’s Janjaweed militia, a largely Arab paramilitary force that abducts primarily Black African tribes in Darfur.

Since the start of his trial in April 2022, he has argued that the court has chosen the wrong man, which the judges have refuted.

Abd-Al-Rahman fled to the Central African Republic in February 2020 when a new Sudanese government announced its willingness to assist with the ICC’s investigation.

He claimed he then confessed to being “desperate” and afraid the authorities would murder him.

Non-Arab tribes in Sudan’s Darfur region fought back against the Arab-dominated government after they complained of systematic discrimination.

The Janjaweed, a force derived from one of the region’s nomadic tribes, were used in Khartoum’s response by unleashing it.

According to the UN, the Darfur conflict in the 2000s caused 300,000 deaths and 2.5 million displaced people.

In response to Sudan’s current crisis, ICC prosecutors are hopeful that more arrest warrants will be issued.

The conflict between the government-linked Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has its roots in the Janjaweed militia, has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties and millions of displacement.

According to the African Union, the conflict has become the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world” due to allegations of atrocities on all sides.