International Criminal Law · Analysis and Cases

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The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi


Case Sheet · ICC

The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi

Situation Situation in Mali
Status Reparations Stage

Context

Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi was a member of Ansar Dine and head of the Hesbah, a morality brigade. He admitted guilt and was convicted on 27 September 2016 as co-perpetrator of the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against religious and historic buildings in Timbuktu, Mali, in June and July 2012. He was sentenced to nine years of imprisonment, subsequently reduced, and completed his sentence on 18 September 2022.

Pre-Trial

Application for arrest warrant 7 September 2015
Arrest warrant 18 September 2015
Crimes at arrest warrant War crime of attacking protected objects · art. 8(2)(e)(iv) RS
Arrest and transfer to ICC 26 September 2015
Initial appearance 30 September 2015
Crimes at document containing charges War crime of attacking protected objects · art. 8(2)(e)(iv) RS
Confirmation of charges hearing 1 March 2016
Result of confirmation of charges Charges confirmed · 24 March 2016
Crimes charged War crime of attacking protected objects · art. 8(2)(e)(iv) RS

Trial

Trial 22–24 August 2016
Trial judgment 27 September 2016 · Guilty (admission of guilt)
Crimes at trial judgment War crime of attacking protected objects · art. 8(2)(e)(iv) RS
Sentence 27 September 2016 · 9 years of imprisonment
Sentence reduction 25 November 2021 · Reduced by 2 years
Transfer to serve sentence 3 May 2019 · United Kingdom
Sentence completed 18 September 2022

Reparations

Reparations order 17 August 2017
Appeal on reparations 8 March 2018 · Reparations order confirmed for the most part
Amount EUR 2,700,000

Key Documents

Warrant of arrest Warrant of Arrest for Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi (2015)
Document containing charges Document Containing the Charges (2016)
Confirmation of charges decision Decision on Confirmation of Charges (2016)
Trial judgment Trial Judgment (27 September 2016)
Reparations order Order for Reparations to Victims (2017)
Appeal on reparations Appeals Chamber Judgment on Reparations (2018)
Sentence reduction Decision on Sentence Reduction (2021)
Transfer to serve sentence Press Release on Transfer to the United Kingdom (2019)
ICC case page Official ICC page — The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi