THE HAGUE: A Malian jihadist will make a first appearance Wednesday before the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges over the destruction of holy sites and sex slavery, the tribunal said.

Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud "will be informed of the charges against him" at the hearing, the Hague-based ICC said in a statement.

Al-Hassan, 40, was arrested over the weekend and handed over by Malian authorities. He arrived at the ICC's detention centre late Saturday.

He faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the destruction of the holy shrines of Timbuktu between 2012 and 2013 as well as accusations of rape and forced marriage.

Al-Hassan's arrest came four days after the court issued an international warrant for his arrest.

Prosecutors allege that he "committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Timbuktu, Mali, between April 2012 and January 2013."

"The charges against him are representative of the criminality and resulting victimisation of the population during this period," ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda added.

Al-Hassan will be the second Islamic extremist to face trial at the ICC, following an earlier landmark ruling at the world's only permanent war crimes court.

War crimes judges in 2016 jailed another Malian who had pleaded guilty to demolishing Timbuktu's fabled shrines in 2012.

That was the court's first case to focus on cultural destruction as a war crime.

The ICC's judges found Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi guilty of directing attacks on the Unesco world heritage site during the jihadist takeover of northern Mali in 2012.

Mahdi was sentenced to nine years behind bars in September 2016 for his role in the razing of Timbuktu's holy shrines, built in the 15th and 16th centuries when the city was revered as a centre of Islamic learning.

For extremists however, its moderate form of Islam is seen as idolatrous. — AFP </s> A Malian jihadist was to appear for the first time Wednesday before international war crimes judges, accused of demolishing Timbuktu's fabled shrines, as well as rape, torture and sex slavery.

Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud will be asked to confirm his identity and be told of the charges against him when he appears at the International Criminal Court.

The hearing at 1300 GMT in The Hague comes after Hassan was captured over the weekend by Malian authorities and swiftly transferred to the Netherlands late Saturday.

Prosecutors allege the 40-year-old "committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Timbuktu, Mali, between April 2012 and January 2013."

A member of the Ansar Dine jihadist group, Hassan was the "de facto chief of the Islamic police" in Timbuktu, the ICC said.

The armed groups which swept across the remote northern Mali region in 2012 seizing control of the UNESCO-protected site "imposed their vision of religion, through terror, on a local population who didn't adhere to it," says Hassan's arrest warrant, unveiled at the weekend by the court.

Hassan had about 40 Islamic police under his control and "played a leading role in committing crimes, as well as religious and sexist persecution".

"All infractions" of the strict Islamic laws were "punished by whippings, torture during detention and the destruction of sites devoted to religious practises," the warrant says, adding that Hassan himself took part in the lashings.

He also allegedly "participated in the policy of forced marriages which victimised the female inhabitants of Timbuktu and led to repeated rapes and the sexual enslavement of women and girls," the court added.

Dubbed "The City of 333 saints", Timbuktu's holy shrines were built in the 15th and 16th centuries when it was revered as a centre of Islamic learning and a spiritual hub.

Extremists, however, see its moderate form of Islam as idolatrous. The jihadists were angered by the long-held practice of worshipping at the shrines and mausoleums of Muslim saints.

Hassan is the second Islamic extremist to face trial at the ICC for the destruction of Timbuktu, following a 2016 landmark ruling at the world's only permanent war crimes court.

In the court's first case to focus on cultural destruction, the ICC judges found Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi guilty of directing attacks on the UNESCO world heritage site in 2012. He was sentenced to nine years in jail.

Hassan's arrest has been welcomed in Timbuktu. "It's a very important step in the fight against impunity," said Moctar Mariko, head of the Malian Human Rights Association (AMDH).

"Justice must be done, and the other criminals hunted down, arrested and tried," he told AFP, adding that there was overwhelming witness evidence against Hassan.

A former Timbuktu MP said: "This is God's work. He is not sleeping, but keeping an eye on Timbuktu."

"The jihadists committed profanity against the tombs. They raped women. Now it is their turn to be judged," he added, asking not to be named.

The unrest in the former French colony stems from a 2012 Tuareg separatist uprising against the state, which was exploited by jihadists in order to take over key cities in the north.

Although French forces removed the Al-Qaeda-linked groups in 2012 from places such as Timbuktu, the groups have morphed into more nimble formations operating in rural areas, sometimes winning over local populations by providing basic services and protection from bandits.

That insurgency has since spread to the country's centre, where local grievances are exploited by the Islamists in a region awash with guns. </s> A Malian jihadist will make a first appearance Wednesday before the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges over the destruction of holy sites and sex slavery, the tribunal said.

Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud "will be informed of the charges against him" at the hearing, the Hague-based ICC said in a statement on Tuesday.

During the initial appearance, scheduled for 1300 GMT at the court's fortress-like headquarters, judges are to verify Al-Hassan's identity and the language in which he'll be able to follow procedures.

Al-Hassan, 40, was arrested over the weekend and handed over by Malian authorities. He arrived at the ICC's detention centre late Saturday.

He faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the destruction of the holy shrines of Timbuktu between 2012 and 2013 as well as accusations of rape and forced marriage.

Al-Hassan's arrest came four days after the court issued an international warrant for his capture.

Prosecutors allege that he "committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Timbuktu, Mali, between April 2012 and January 2013."

A member of the Ansar Dine jihadist group, Al-Hassan was the "de facto chief of the Islamic police" in Timbuktu, the ICC said.

Hassan allegedly "participated in the policy of forced marriages which victimised the female inhabitants of Timbuktu and led to repeated rapes and the sexual enslavement of women and girls," the court added.

His detention "sends a strong message to all those, wherever they are, who commit crimes which shock the conscience of humanity that my office remains steadfast in the pursuit of its mandate," chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said shortly after his transfer to the ICC.

"The charges against him are representative of the criminality and resulting victimisation of the population during this period," Bensouda added.

Rights groups Tuesday hailed his arrest, with the International Federation for Human Rights calling it a "great relief" to victims.

"This is especially when the situation in the centre and north, including in Timbuktu, deteriorates with the resurgence of violence attributed to armed groups of terrorists," the victims' lawyer Moctar Mariko said.

Al-Hassan will be the second Islamic extremist to face trial at the ICC, following an earlier landmark ruling at the world's only permanent war crimes court.

War crimes judges in 2016 jailed another Malian who had pleaded guilty to demolishing Timbuktu's fabled shrines in 2012.

That was the court's first case to focus on cultural destruction as a war crime.

The ICC's judges found Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi guilty of directing attacks on the UNESCO world heritage site during the jihadist takeover of northern Mali in 2012.

Mahdi was sentenced to nine years behind bars in September 2016 for his role in the razing of Timbuktu's holy shrines, built in the 15th and 16th centuries when the city was revered as a centre of Islamic learning.

For extremists however, its moderate form of Islam is seen as idolatrous.

Hassan, a member of the Tuareg tribe, however has been further charged with "persecution on both religious and gender grounds; rape and sexual slavery committed in the context of forced marriages; torture and other inhuman acts," the court said.

The ICC opened in 2002 to try the world's worst crimes in places where national courts are unable or unwilling to prosecute alleged perpetrators.

The landmark 2016 verdict by the ICC against Mahdi was the first arising out of the conflict in Mali, and the first time a jihadist had sat in the dock at the court. </s> An Islamist militant suspected of committing war crimes in Mali is due to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Wednesday, three days after the Malian authorities handed him over into the court's custody last week.

The ICC indicted Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud for crimes allegedly committed when he served as the de-facto chief of religious police after his jihadist group seized control of Mali's capital Timbuktu in 2012.

Charges against him include the destruction of cultural monuments and enforcing policies that led to sexual enslavement of women and girls.

Prosecutors accuse him of being a member of Ansar Dine, one of several Islamist militant groups to have waged an insurgency against the government since 2012.

During his initial appearance, Al Hassan, 40, will be informed of the allegations outlined in his arrest warrant and the court will verify his identity. He is not yet required to enter a plea. </s> THE HAGUE (Reuters) - An Islamist militant suspected of committing war crimes in Mali is due to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Wednesday, three days after the Malian authorities handed him over into the court's custody last week.

The ICC indicted Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud for crimes allegedly committed when he served as the de-facto chief of religious police after his jihadist group seized control of Mali's capital Timbuktu in 2012.

Charges against him include the destruction of cultural monuments and enforcing policies that led to sexual enslavement of women and girls.

Prosecutors accuse him of being a member of Ansar Dine, one of several Islamist militant groups to have waged an insurgency against the government since 2012.

During his initial appearance, Al Hassan, 40, will be informed of the allegations outlined in his arrest warrant and the court will verify his identity. He is not yet required to enter a plea.

Ansar Dine took over Timbuktu, known for its religious sites dating to its 14th century golden age. It was once a major trading hub and a center of Sufi Islam - a branch of the religion seen as idolatrous by some hardline Muslim groups.

The group enforced its version of Sharia law. Al Hassan had unveiled women thrown in jail and beaten and was also instrumental in enforcing forced marriages which led to rapes and sexual slavery, according to media reports.

Last year, the ICC sentenced war criminal Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi to nine years in prison after he pleaded guilty to the destruction of cultural heritage sites in Mali. He is expected to appear as a witness against Al Hassan.

Victims' groups had been critical of the limited scope of Al-Mahdi's indictment, but Al Hassan's arrest and transfer was hailed as a new stage in Mali persecutions.

"We are satisfied that the court listened to us and widened the scope of prosecutions in the Mali case to include crimes against persons and especially sexual and gender-based crimes," Moctar Mariko, a Malian human rights activist, said in a statement. </s> THE HAGUE - A Malian jihadist appeared for the first time before an international war crimes judge on Wednesday, accused of demolishing Timbuktu&39;s fabled shrines, as well as rape, torture and sex slavery.

Speaking in Arabic, Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud confirmed his identity and date of birth at a brief hearing at the International Criminal Court and said he had been informed of the charges against him and his rights.

Hassan was captured over the weekend by Malian authorities and swiftly transferred to the Netherlands late Saturday.

Prosecutors allege the 40-year-old "committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Timbuktu, Mali, between April 2012 and January 2013."

A member of the Ansar Dine jihadist group, Hassan was the "de facto chief of the Islamic police" in Timbuktu, the ICC said.

The armed groups which swept across the remote northern Mali region in 2012 seizing control of the UNESCO-protected site "imposed their vision of religion, through terror, on a local population who didn&39;t adhere to it," alleges Hassan&39;s arrest warrant, unveiled at the weekend by the court.

Whippings, enslavement

Hassan had about 40 Islamic police under his control and "played a leading role in committing crimes, as well as religious and sexist persecution".

"All infractions" of the strict Islamic laws were "punished by whippings, torture during detention and the destruction of sites devoted to religious practices," the warrant says, adding that Hassan himself took part in the lashings.

He also allegedly "participated in the policy of forced marriages which victimised the female inhabitants of Timbuktu and led to repeated rapes and the sexual enslavement of women and girls," the court added.

Dubbed "The City of 333 saints", Timbuktu&39;s holy shrines were built in the 15th and 16th centuries when it was revered as a centre of Islamic learning and a spiritual hub.

Extremists, however, see its moderate form of Islam as idolatrous. The jihadists were angered by the long-held practice of worshipping at the shrines and mausoleums of Muslim saints.

With a closely-shaven head and a small goatee beard, Hassan appeared in a navy blue suit, with a pink shirt and brown diamond-pattered tie.

He listened carefully and calmly to the brief proceedings, telling judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut that it was "not necessary" to read out the charges.

His only complaint, before the court was adjourned until September 24, was that "I have been detained in a room with a camera."

Defence lawyer Yasser Hassan said the camera was "really harming his dignity and also his privacy."

Hassan is the second Islamic extremist to face trial at the ICC for the destruction of Timbuktu, following a 2016 landmark ruling at the world&39;s only permanent war crimes court.

In the court&39;s first case to focus on cultural destruction, the ICC judges found Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi guilty of directing attacks on the UNESCO world heritage site in 2012. He was sentenced to nine years in jail.

God&39;s work

Hassan&39;s arrest has been welcomed in Timbuktu. "It&39;s a very important step in the fight against impunity," said Moctar Mariko, head of the Malian Human Rights Association (AMDH).

"Justice must be done, and the other criminals hunted down, arrested and tried," he told AFP, adding that there was overwhelming witness evidence against Hassan.

A former Timbuktu MP said: "This is God&39;s work. He is not sleeping, but keeping an eye on Timbuktu."

"The jihadists committed profanity against the tombs. They raped women. Now it is their turn to be judged," he added, asking not to be named.

The unrest in the former French colony stems from a 2012 Tuareg separatist uprising against the state, which was exploited by jihadists in order to take over key cities in the north.

Although French forces removed the Al-Qaeda-linked groups in 2012 from places such as Timbuktu, the groups have morphed into more nimble formations operating in rural areas, sometimes winning over local populations by providing basic services and protection from bandits.

That insurgency has since spread to the country&39;s centre, where local grievances are exploited by the Islamists in a region awash with guns. </s> THE HAGUE (Reuters) - An Islamist militant suspected of war crimes in Mali appeared before the International Criminal Court on Wednesday but did not address the allegations against him, instead complaining about the conditions of his detention.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud for crimes allegedly committed while serving as de facto chief of religious police after his jihadist group seized control of the Malian city of Timbuktu in 2012.

He is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the destruction of cultural monuments in the ancient city in Mali’s north, and over enforcement of policies that led to sexual enslavement of women and girls.

When asked during his first appearance at the ICC if he had any observations to make to the court, Al Hassan, who is not yet required to enter a plea, complained about his detention.

“I was detained in a single room with a camera,” he told the judge after confirming his identity. Al Hassan’s duty counsel told the court his client believed the circumstances of his detention were “harming his dignity and his privacy”.

Al Hassan was a member of Ansar Dine, one of several Islamist militant groups that have waged an insurgency against the Malian government since 2012.

Timbuktu is known for monuments dating to its 14th century golden age and was once a major trading hub and centre of Sufi Islam - a branch of the religion seen as idolatrous by some Muslim militant groups.

After seizing Timbuktu, Ansar Dine introduced its version of sharia law that Al Hassan is accused of helping to enforce, including forced marriages for some women and girls and the destruction of Sufi monuments.

Under ICC rules, Al Hassan has not yet formally been charged. The next step in his case is a confirmation of charges hearing that has been tentatively set for Sept. 24.

He was handed over to ICC custody in The Hague on March 31, almost a year after his arrest in northern Mali.

Mali fell into turmoil when Islamist fighters and Tuareg-led rebels seized control of the country’s north six years ago.

France poured hundreds of troops into its former West African colony to repel the insurgents in 2013, but attacks have been spreading further south towards the capital Bamako despite a U.N. peacekeeping mission. </s> Alleged Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist leader Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi pleaded guilty to a single charge of cultural destruction at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. By Patrick Post (ANP/AFP/File)

The Hague (AFP) - War crimes judges jailed a Malian jihadist Tuesday for nine years for demolishing Timbuktu's fabled shrines, a landmark ruling seen as a warning that destroying mankind's heritage will not go unpunished.

In the first such case to focus on cultural destruction as a war crime, the International Criminal Court found Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi guilty of directing attacks on the UNESCO world heritage site during the jihadist takeover of northern Mali in 2012.

Mahdi "supervised the destruction and gave instructions to the attackers" who took pickaxes and bulldozers to the centuries-old shrines, presiding judge Raul Pangalangan told the tribunal.

"The chamber unanimously finds that Mr al-Mahdi is guilty of the crime of attacking protected sites as a war crime," he added, during an hour-long hearing at the tribunal based in The Hague.

ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, whose office had asked for between nine and 11 years, said the sentence will signal to perpetrators that destroying cultural heritage is "a serious crime".

"It is a war crime and they will be held accountable for destroying these important sites," she told AFP.

Some 55 places around the world are on UNESCO's list of endangered cultural heritage sites.

Handed over to the ICC in late 2015, Mahdi, dressed in a sober grey suit and blue-striped tie, listened intently, but made no comment as sentence was passed.

The landmark verdict is also the first arising out of the conflict in Mali, and the first time a jihadist has sat in the dock.

In an unprecedented move, Mahdi, aged between 30 and 40, last month pleaded guilty to the single war crimes charge of "intentionally directing" attacks on nine of Timbuktu's mausoleums and the centuries-old door of the city's Sidi Yahia mosque.

The judges recognised the severity of the crimes targeting sites which "were dedicated to religion and historic monuments and were not military objectives".

But they also gave Mahdi credit for his guilty plea, his remorse and for his "substantial cooperation" with the prosecution.

The slight, bespectacled man with a mop of curly hair had previously asked the pardon of his people when videos were shown of him and other Islamist extremists knocking down the earthen shrines.

Founded between the fifth and 12th centuries by Tuareg tribes, Timbuktu has been dubbed "the city of 333 saints" for the number of Muslim sages buried there.

Revered as a centre of Islamic learning during its golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries, it was however considered idolatrous by the jihadists who swept across Mali's remote north in early 2012.

As the head of the so-called Hisbah or "Manners Brigade," it was Mahdi, a former teacher and Islamic scholar, who gave the orders to ransack the sites.

Apologising last month at a court hearing, he said he had been overtaken by "evil spirits", urging Muslims not to follow his example.

The court found that Mahdi was a member of Ansar Dine, one of the Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist groups which seized northern territory before being mostly chased out by a French-led military intervention in January 2013.

The ruling "is a landmark in gaining recognition for the importance of heritage for humanity as a whole and for the communities that have preserved it over the centuries," UNESCO chief Irina Bokova said.

The UN cultural body also called it a "major step towards peace and reconciliation in Mali".

But there was concern that other crimes committed during the conflict have not yet been prosecuted.

The International Federation for Human Rights "would have liked to see broader charges including those of gender and sexual based crimes," said spokeswoman Carrie Comer.

Human Rights Watch said the ruling sent "a clear message that attacking the world's historical treasures will be punished".

But it also argued the "Malian government should follow suit and step up efforts to ensure investigations and fair trials for crimes committed by all sides."

And Amnesty International said it was a "first step towards broader accountability for all crimes" during the conflict.

Bensouda vowed her office was still investigating, saying "We are also looking into these crimes such as sexual and gender-based crimes and killings." </s> An international court on Tuesday found a Muslim radical guilty of committing a war crime by overseeing the destruction of historic mausoleums in the Malian desert city of Timbuktu, and sentenced him to nine years in prison.

 Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, a former teacher, had pleaded guilty and expressed remorse for his role in overseeing the destruction of nine mausoleums and a mosque door by pickax-wielding rebels in June and July of 2012.

 His trial, which opened Aug. 22, was a landmark for the International Criminal Court, which has struggled to bring suspects to justice since its establishment in 2002. It was the tribunal’s first conviction for destruction of religious buildings or historic monuments, and the first guilty verdict delivered against a Muslim extremist.

 Al-Qaida-linked rebels occupied the famed Saharan city of Timbuktu in 2012 and enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law that included destruction of the historic mud-brick mausoleums they considered idolatrous. Al Mahdi was leader of one of the ‘morality brigades’ set up by Timbuktu’s new rulers.

 ICC prosecutors said Al Mahdi was a member of Ansar Eddine, an Islamic extremist group with links to al-Qaida that held power in northern Mali in 2012. The militants were driven out after nearly a year by French forces, which arrested Al Mahdi in 2014 in neighbouring Niger. </s> The Hague (AFP) - War crimes judges said Thursday that a Malian jihadist was liable for 2.7 million euros in personal damages for destroying Timbuktu's fabled shrines in 2012, as they ordered reparations in a landmark ruling.

The International Criminal Court ordered that the victims of the razing of the fabled west African city's historic treasures be paid "individual, collective and symbolic" reparations.

But the judges at the tribunal in The Hague also recognised that Ahmad Al-Faqi Al-Mahdi -- jailed last September for nine years -- was penniless, saying it was now up to the Trust Fund for Victims to decide how the outstanding amount will have to be paid.

The fund was created in 2004 by the ICC's state parties, aiming to address harms resulting from genocide, crimes of humanity and war crimes.

It implements any reparations ordered by the court -- including financial payments -- and helps victims. Funding comes from public and private donors as well as court-ordered fines and forfeitures.

The fund now has until February 16 to come up with a plan for how to implement Thursday's reparations award.

Judges further ordered the Malian state and the international community be compensated with a symbolic amount of one euro each for damages suffered.

"We will talk to the victims' lawyers and we will go to Timbuktu, then we'll solicit countries and individuals to collect donations," said the fund's executive director Pieter de Baan.

Thursday's judgement was a "very symbolic and important moment for the victims," De Baan told AFP.

Jihadists used pickaxes and bulldozers against nine mausoleums and the centuries-old door of the Sidi Yahya mosque, part of a golden age of Islam after over-running northern Mali in 2012.

Timbuktu, founded by Tuareg tribes between the fifth and 12th centuries, has been nicknamed "the city of 333 saints," referring to the number of Muslim sages buried there.

During a halcyon period in the 15th and 16th century, the city was revered as a centre of Islamic learning -- but for 21st century Muslim fanatics, its moderate form of Islam was idolatrous.

The assault on the UNESCO world heritage site triggered global opprobrium, but also led to a legal precedent.

Mahdi's case was the first to come before the Hague-based ICC as a crime of cultural destruction.

He was jailed for nine years in 2016 after he pleaded guilty to directing attacks on the world heritage site and apologised to the Timbuktu community.

The destruction of the shrines carried "a message of terror and helplessness and destroyed part of humanity's shared memory and collective consciousness," judge Raul Pangalangan said.

According to the court's 1998 founding accord, the Rome Statute, judges can determine that victims are entitled to reparations including "restitution, compensation and rehabilitation."

The court can also hand out an order directly against a convicted person, demanding similar reparations.

Thursday's award will now be closely scrutinised, given concern about whether substantial funds can be secured, and the time it will take to reach victims.

Rights groups welcomed the ruling, but said it remained a "drop in the ocean" compared to all human rights abuses that have taken place in Timbuktu.

But "reparations in this case give a new hope that while not all cultural property can be restored, people and culture can rise from the ashes and debris, to continue their heritage for future generations," said Luke Moffett of the Queens' University Belfast Human Rights Centre.

The reparations will only be the second such award in the history of the court since it began work in 2002.

In March, the ICC awarded symbolic damages of $250 (212 euros) to each of the 297 victims of former Congolese warlord Germain Katanga, who is serving 12 years for a 2003 attack on a village.

The court estimated the damage caused in that attack at $3.7 million, and found Katanga liable for $1 million of that total -- but at the time also acknowledged he was penniless.

Mahdi was a member of Ansar Dine, one of the Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist groups which seized territory in northern Mali before being mostly chased out by a French-led military intervention in January 2013.

The shrines have now been restored using traditional methods and local masons, in a project financed by several countries as well as UNESCO.
Malian alleged Islamic extremist war criminal Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud makes an initial appearance before the International Criminal Court accused of demolishing shrines in Timbuktu, rape, torture, and sexual enslavement.