- Title: Islamist rebel faces ICC judgement for wrecking Timbuktu shrines in landmark trial
- Date: 26th September 2016
- Summary: TIMBUKTU, MALI (FILE - JULY 1, 2012) (REUTERS) GROUP OF ISLAMIST REBELS DESTROYING CHEICK ALFA MOYA MAUSOLEUM WITH A SLEDGE HAMMER MAN STANDING ON TOP OF RUINS OF MAUSOLEUM, WHILE ANOTHER MAN DESTROYING MAUSOLEUM WITH AN AXE BEHIND HIM SIGN READING (French): "CEMETERY OF THE THREE SAINTS" BED, SHROUD AND PART OF MAUSOLEUM DOOR ABANDONED OUTSIDE TWO ISLAMISTS USING STICK TO TEAR DOWN THE DOOR OF CHEICK SIDI MAHMOUD MAUSOLEUM DEBRIS OF SUFI SAINT CHEICK SIDI MAHMOUD MAUSOLEUM TIMBUKTU, MALI (FILE) (REUTERS) VIEW OF TIMBUKTU ROAD SIGN READING (French and Arabic): "THE CITY OF TIMBUKTU IS BASED ON ISLAM AND WILL BE JUDGED ONLY BY ISLAMIC LAW (SHARIA)" PEOPLE IN STREET INTERIOR OF THE AHMED BABA CENTRE FOR ISLAMIC LEARNING VARIOUS OF DESTROYED MANUSCRIPTS AND EMPTY BOXES ON GROUND THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS (FILE - MARCH 1, 2016) (REUTERS) PEOPLE ARRIVING AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) ICC BUILDING ICC FLAG
- Embargoed: 11th October 2016 13:12
- Keywords: Mali Timbuktu mausoleums destruction Islamists UNESCO International Criminal Court Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi
- Location: TIMBUKTU, MALI / THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS
- City: TIMBUKTU, MALI / THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS
- Country: Netherlands
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA001517CTON
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A former Islamist rebel who admitted to destroying holy shrines during Mali's 2012 conflict faces his judgement at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday (September 27) - its first case to focus on cultural destruction as a war crime.
Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi admitted wrecking the cultural sites during a hearing at the court in The Hague in August. He asked for forgiveness and said he had been swept up in an "evil wave" by Al Qaeda and the Ansar Dine Islamist groups which briefly seized control of Timbuktu during the fighting.
Mahdi would be the first defendant convicted of Islamist-related charges by the global court that has only secured three other convictions in its 14-year existence.
Prosecutors say Mahdi led a group of religious police using pick-axes and crowbars to destroy nine mausoleums and the door of a mosque, and at times took part himself.
Most of the sites dated from Mali's 14th-century golden age as a trading hub and centre of Sufi Islam - a branch of the religion seen as idolatrous by some hardline Muslim groups.
Mahdi faces a maximum sentence of 30 years, but prosecutors are expected to ask for a lesser sentence, given his cooperation. He told the court he was not sure of his age, but estimated it at 45. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
