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Islamic radical in court over Timbuktu mausoleum destruction Islamic radical in court over Timbuktu mausoleum destruction
(35 minutes later)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — An Islamic radical is appearing at the International Criminal Court to establish whether evidence is strong enough to try him for his alleged involvement in the destruction of historic mausoleums in the Malian city of Timbuktu. THE HAGUE, Netherlands — An accused al-Qaida-linked Islamic radical appeared Tuesday at the International Criminal Court for a hearing to establish whether evidence is strong enough to try him for his alleged involvement in the destruction of historic mausoleums in the Malian city of Timbuktu.
Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, who was sent to the court in September last year, is the first suspect to face ICC charges of deliberately attacking religious or historical monuments. The case involves “the destruction of irreplaceable historical monuments” and a “callous assault on the dignity and identity of entire populations and their religion and historical roots,” Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told judges. She likened the crimes in Timbuktu to the destruction last year by Islamic State extremists of historic ruins in the Syrian city of Palmyra.
Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told Tuesday’s hearing that Al Mahdi, also known as Abou Tourab, led the destruction of the buildings in June and July 2012. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, who was sent to the court in September, is the first suspect to face ICC charges of deliberately attacking religious or historical monuments.
Bensouda says the case involves “the destruction of irreplaceable historical monuments” and a “callous assault on the dignity and identity of entire populations and their religion and historical roots.” Bensouda said that Al Mahdi, also known as Abou Tourab, helped organize the destruction of nine mausoleums and a mosque’s door in June and July 2012. All but one of the buildings is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites, she said.
Al Mahdi, dressed in a white robe, stood briefly early in the hearing to say that he understood the case against him. He wasn’t required to enter a plea.
Prosecutors allege that he was a member of Ansar Dine, an Islamic extremist group with links to al-Qaida that ruled across northern Mali in 2012. The militants were driven out after nearly a year by a French military intervention.
The radicals destroyed 14 of Timbuktu’s 16 mausoleums, one-room structures that house the tombs of the city’s great thinkers. The extremists condemned the buildings as totems of idolatry. The 14 mausoleums have since been restored.
“Unfortunately, at that time it was totally impossible to stop the destructive rage of the armed groups ... and protect these buildings of such immense and immeasurable value,” Bensouda said, adding that Al Mahdi was a “proactive and determined” member of the group that destroyed the mausoleums.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.