The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday convicted Al-Qaida-linked militant leader Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in terrorizing the civilian population of the Malian city of Timbuktu.
The case centered on the 2012-2013 northern Mali conflict, which began with an uprising by the local Tuareg population, and quickly escalated after a military coup created a power vacuum. Islamist groups, including Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), seized control of major northern cities, imposing strict Sharia law and committing human rights abuses. Their southward advance in early 2013 prompted French military intervention and the establishment of a UN peacekeeping mission, which helped stabilize the immediate crisis. However, the conflict’s aftermath left Mali facing ongoing security challenges and highlighted the broader regional threats posed by militant groups in the Sahel, prompting increased international counterterrorism efforts in the area.
The charges against Al Hassan stem from his time as de facto leader of the Islamic Police, an unofficial law enforcement body established by armed Islamist groups to enforce their strict interpretation of religious law. The group patrolled the city day and night, imposing harsh new rules that severely restricted daily life and religious practices. Through violent punishments like flogging and amputation, the Islamic Police created an atmosphere of fear that paralyzed residents, stripping away long-held freedoms and leaving lasting physical and psychological scars on the community.
The Court found that Al Hassan played a “key role” in the Islamic Police throughout the course of its control of Timbuktu by Ansar Dine and AQIM. In particular, in his role as de facto police chief, Al Hassan oversaw punitive amputations and public floggings of Timbuktu civilians for such alleged violations of Islamic law as extramarital relations, alcohol consumption, and smoking. The Court found that Al Hassan himself “meted out at least 34 and 37 lashes” on two male victims.
Al Hassan was convicted by the majority under the Rome Statute as a direct perpetrator of the crimes against humanity of torture as well as the war crimes of torture and outrages upon personal dignity, for his involvement in one flogging event, as well as for facilitating and contributing to the commission of the crime. Al Hassan was also convicted by the majority for contributing to the commission of the crime against humanity of other inhumane acts and persecution on religious grounds, as well as the war crimes of cruel treatment, mutilation, and the passing of sentences without due process.
Despite the Court finding that certain crimes of sexual violence, notably rape, forced marriages, and sexual slavery, were committed by the Ansar Dine and AQIM in Timbuktu between 2 April 2012 and 29 January 2013. This holding spawned some dissent among the judges, who disagreed over whether culpability applied.
The court also found that Ansar Dine/AQIM members used pickaxes, shovels, and hammers to demolish multiple mausoleums and the door of a mosque, but acquitted Al Hassan of charges related to these attacks for not having a role in the destruction.
The charges and conviction stem from Al Hassan’s involvement in Islamic militant organizations Ansar Dine and AQIM and his actions in Timbuktu, northern Mali between 2012 and 2013. These organizations led a series of systematic attacks against the civilian population of Timbuktu and the surrounding region that focused on destabilizing the government in the hope of establishing an Islamic theocracy.
The ICC took Al Hassan into custody in April 2018. After the ICC unanimously rejected his appeal in February 2020 that his charges were not severe enough to justify action in the ICC, his trial began in July 2020.
Al Hassan faces up to life in prison when sentencing is determined at a later date. According to an ICC press release, both parties to the case are entitled to appeal the verdict within 30 days.
