International Criminal Court prosecutors have called for life imprisonment for Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a Sudanese militia leader convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur between 2003 and 2004. The prosecution described Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, as being directly responsible for gang rape, murder, and torture while serving in the Janjaweed, an Arab paramilitary group deployed by Khartoum against predominantly Black African communities.
Judges detailed how the defendant personally participated in atrocities, including loading civilians onto vehicles, assaulting them with axes, and ordering executions. Abd-Al-Rahman, born around 1949, maintains prosecutors identified the wrong person, though the court rejected this claim. His defense team seeks a seven-year sentence instead.
The Darfur conflict killed 300,000 people and displaced 2.5 million during the 2000s, according to United Nations estimates. Sudan remains engulfed in violence as government forces battle the Rapid Support Forces, which evolved from the original Janjaweed militia.
Judges detailed how the defendant personally participated in atrocities, including loading civilians onto vehicles, assaulting them with axes, and ordering executions. Abd-Al-Rahman, born around 1949, maintains prosecutors identified the wrong person, though the court rejected this claim. His defense team seeks a seven-year sentence instead.
The Darfur conflict killed 300,000 people and displaced 2.5 million during the 2000s, according to United Nations estimates. Sudan remains engulfed in violence as government forces battle the Rapid Support Forces, which evolved from the original Janjaweed militia.
