July 2020. In 2012, a coalition of Islamic extremists occupied the ancient city of Timbuktu in the Saharan desert. They imposed a brutal regime, murdering and raping those they considered to be non-believers and destroying centuries-old holy sites that they saw as blasphemous. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague accuse Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, who was arrested in 2018, of being one of those extremists and even a leading figure among them. They say he was a key member of Ansar Dine (“Defenders of the Faith”), a militant group that ruled northern Mali between April 2012 and January 2013. Al Hassan was de facto chief of the Islamic police and as such was responsible for the torture and mistreatment of people, particularly of women, the prosecutors say. He appeared in court on Tuesday wearing a traditional turban and a facemask to protect against the coronavirus, but did not enter any plea.
Jul 2020. Timbuktu War Crimes Trial
