The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sentenced former Sudanese militia commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, widely known as Ali Kushayb, to 20 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the height of the Darfur conflict more than 20 years ago.
Abd-Al-Rahman, a senior leader of the notorious Janjaweed militia, was convicted in October on 27 counts that included orchestrating mass executions, torture, persecution, and personally killing detainees with an axe between 2003 and 2004. Prosecutors had pushed for a life sentence, arguing the crimes were exceptionally brutal and targeted civilians from the Fur community, who were accused of backing rebel forces, the Associated Press reported.
During sentencing, Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said the 76-year-old not only issued orders that led directly to widespread abuses, but also “personally perpetrated” some attacks, including beating prisoners with the axe he routinely carried. Though each charge carried individual sentences of up to 20 years, judges ultimately imposed a single 20-year prison term.
The ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor said it would review the ruling and may appeal for a harsher sentence. It stressed that the scale and cruelty of the crimes, including the killing of at least 213 people and the rape of 16 women and girls, justified a life term under the court’s statutes.
Abd-Al-Rahman is the first person the ICC has convicted for atrocities in Darfur, where judges concluded that Janjaweed forces acted as part of a state-backed campaign to suppress armed rebellion. Although the ICC can issue sentences up to 30 years, judges have discretion to impose life imprisonment in especially grave situations. His pre-trial and trial detention will be deducted from the final term.
While Abd-Al-Rahman’s crimes date back two decades, Darfur remains engulfed in violence as Sudan’s current civil war deepens. ICC investigators are now collecting evidence from a recent wave of killings in the besieged city of El-Fasher, warning that emerging patterns of attacks may also constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Judge Korner emphasised that ICC rulings aim not only to deliver justice for past crimes but also to help deter future atrocities. “Deterrence is particularly apposite in this case given the current state of affairs in Sudan,” she said.
