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ICC tries suspect in first property crime case over Timbuktu monuments

Saturday October 03 2015
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Alleged Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist leader Ahmad Faqi Al Mahdi looks on in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on September 30, 2015. PHOTO | AFP

On September 26, Ahmad Al Mahdi Al Faqi (Abu Tourab), arrived at the International Criminal Court in The Hague as a war crimes suspect. Al Faqi was not a regular war criminal and his case became the first to be handled by the court that has nothing to do with loss of lives, but rather the destruction of religious and historical buildings.

Al Faqi’s arrest warrant, issued a week earlier to the Niger government, touched on war crimes allegedly committed in Timbuktu, Mali, between June and July 2012 when Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Ansar Eddine, a mainly Tuareg movement associated with AQIM, were in charge of the city.

Born in Agoune, 100km west of Timbuktu, from the Ansar Tuareg tribe, Al Faqi was until September 2012 the head of the “Hesbah” (Manners Brigade). He is accused of directing attacks against religious and historical monuments.

Militants destroy

The Ansar Eddine militants destroyed 10 buildings, which included the Sidi Mahmoud Ben Omar Mohamed Aquit mausoleum, the Alpha Moya mausoleum and the Sidi Yahia mosque. 

In 2012, Malian Justice Minister Malick Coulibaly asked the ICC to investigate the war crimes committed by the Islamists during their takeover of the ancient city.

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“There has been grave and massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed particularly in the north of the country. Our government is unable to prosecute these perpetrators and we are calling on ICC to step in and assist us,” said Mr Coulibaly.

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that the trial was a positive step as the people of Mali deserved justice for the attacks against their cities, beliefs and communities. 

“The charges we have brought against Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi involve most serious crimes; they are about the destruction of irreplaceable historic monuments, and they are about an assault on the dignity and identity of entire populations, their religious and historical roots.

The inhabitants of northern Mali, the main victims of these attacks, deserve to see justice done,” said Ms Bensouda.

Under the Rome statute, intentional attacks against historic monuments and buildings dedicated to religion are serious crimes
“It is our belief that cultural heritage is the mirror of humanity and such attacks affect humanity as a whole. We must stand up to the destruction and defacing of our common heritage,” she added.

In July this year, Unesco chief Irina Bokova visited the 14 mausoleums that have been rebuilt by local stonemasons under Unesco’s stewardship and promised that the ICC would file war crimes charges against the perpetrators of the destruction.

“I would like those responsible for the mausoleums’ destruction brought before the International Criminal Court. Their destruction is considered a war crime under the UN’s 1954 Hague Convention. We have been in touch with the ICC and they are progressing rapidly, and I hope they will be ready to present the case to the ICC,” said Ms Bokova.

“We will continue to do our part to highlight the severity of such war crimes in the hope that such efforts will deter the commission of similar crimes in the future,” said Ms Bensouda.

Overran ancient city

In 2012, Islamic radicals overran the ancient city, taking charge after the Malian soldiers were overpowered. They then went on a destruction spree, pulling down 14 of the 16 mausoleums, terming them abodes of idolatry.

Unesco lists Timbuktu as one of its World Heritage Sites. According to the UN agency, in the 16th century the city hosted more than 150 schools and universities and was home to thousands of Muslim students from across the world.

Mid this year, militants demolished another mausoleum that was to be included in the UN World Heritage list in central Mali. The Cheick Amadou Barry mausoleum was partially destroyed in Hamdallahi.

Barry was an Islamic religious leader in the 19th century responsible for spreading Islam in central Mali. The destruction was allegedly inspired by what the Islamic State (ISIS) has been doing in Syria.

In August, ISIS destroyed the 2,000-year-old temple in Palmyra, another World Heritage Site. They also destroyed the C.1500 St Elian Monastery in central Syria.

“I think this is the biggest attempt, the most brutal and systematic destruction of ancient sites since World War II and it is extremely worrying,” said Ms Bokova.

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