The International Criminal Court today convicted Ali Muhammad Ali Abd Al Rahman, one of the leaders of the notorious Janjaweed militia, of masterminding a campaign of grave crimes committed more than 20 years ago in Sudan's Darfur region - including ordering mass executions and fatally beating two prisoners with an axe.
This is the first time a court has convicted someone for crimes in Darfur.
A three-judge panel found that the crimes, including mass killings and rapes, were part of a plan by the government of then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to suppress an uprising in Darfur.
The scorched earth campaign in Darfur has been waged with bombings and Janjaweed attacks on villages in the early hours of the morning, on horseback and camels.
Abd Al Rahman, better known as Ali Kushaib, wore a suit and tie in the courtroom. He wore headphones and showed no emotion as Presiding Judge Joanna Korner found him guilty on 27 counts.
He will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
As the leader of the Janjaweed in Darfur, he was found guilty of crimes committed by that militia in Darfur from 2003 to 2004.
"He incited and gave orders that resulted in the killings, rapes and destruction committed by the Janjaweed," Judge Korner said.
The council made the decision unanimously.
Abd Al Rahman surrendered to the Central African Republic authorities and was transferred to the custody of the International Criminal Court in 2020. At the start of his trial in 2022, he pleaded not guilty to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He claimed that he was not Ali Kushaib.
The judges rejected that defense, saying he personally identified himself by his name, but also by that nickname in a video recording made when he surrendered to the Central African Republic authorities.
Former President Al-Bashir is also indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes and genocide in Darfur, but has not been extradited to The Hague, even though he was ousted and detained. He is currently in northern Sudan, in a military prison, his lawyer, Mohamad al-Hassan al-Amin, told the AP.
A civil war has been raging in Sudan since 2023 between the army on one side and the so-called Rapid Support Forces, which emerged from the Janjaweed. The two groups were allies after the 2019 uprising that led to the fall of al-Bashir's rule.
Up to 300.000 people have been killed in Darfur so far and 2,7 million have fled.
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