Sudan’s Ex-Militia Chief Receives Two-Decade Prison Term
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, widely known as Ali Kushayb, will serve 20 years following his conviction on 27 charges encompassing crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated between August 2003 and April 2004 in Darfur, Sudan. The tribunal reached its decision unanimously, delivering the sentence months after establishing his guilt on October 6.
The former Janjaweed militia commander faced 31 total counts, with judges finding him culpable for orchestrating systematic attacks on civilian populations, committing murder, engaging in torture, perpetrating rape, engaging in pillaging, destroying property, carrying out persecution, and forcing mass population transfers.
His criminal conduct unfolded during the Kodoom and Bindisi military operations, along with associated campaigns targeting vulnerable communities.
While deliberating his punishment, judicial officials acknowledged several mitigating circumstances—including Abd al-Rahman's advanced age, exemplary behavior during incarceration and throughout legal proceedings, and his voluntary submission to international authorities. However, the tribunal emphasized these considerations carried "only limited weight" in their final determination.
The chamber indicated it would have delivered a harsher sentence without these mitigating elements present.
Abd al-Rahman's time already served will count toward his sentence, dating from June 9, 2020—when he surrendered himself in the Central African Republic—through the judgment date.
The ICC formally confirmed charges against the militia leader in 2021, following his transfer to the court's custody after his voluntary surrender.
The Darfur region became the epicenter of brutal warfare beginning in 2003, when three rebel factions clashed with the Sudanese government. UN statistics document the conflict's devastating toll: 300,000 fatalities and approximately 2.5 million people forcibly displaced from their homes.
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