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| ICC finds jihadist guilty of war crime over desecration of Timbuktu shrines | ICC finds jihadist guilty of war crime over desecration of Timbuktu shrines |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The International Criminal Court has found a jihadist militant guilty of a war crime for the desecration of holy shrines in Timbuktu, in the first case of its kind. | The International Criminal Court has found a jihadist militant guilty of a war crime for the desecration of holy shrines in Timbuktu, in the first case of its kind. |
| Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi admitted the damage during a two-day trial in August, saying he was swept up in an "evil wave" by al Qaeda and other Islamist groups and asking for forgiveness. | Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi admitted the damage during a two-day trial in August, saying he was swept up in an "evil wave" by al Qaeda and other Islamist groups and asking for forgiveness. |
| Al-Mahdi was convicted on Tuesday morning by a three-judge panel at the ICC in The Hague. Sentencing was expected to take place later in the day. | |
| The case marks a collection of firsts for the ICC: the first time it has prosecuted an individual over cultural destruction; the first time a radical Islamist militant has appeared before the court, and the first time a defendant has pleaded guilty. | |
| Fighting for the Ansar Dine group, Al-Mahdi oversaw the destruction of nine mausoleums and a mosque door in the Malian city during June and July of 2012. | |
| According to the founding treaty of the ICC, a person is guilty of a war crime if they are found to have “intentionally direct[ed] attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, and historic monuments”, which are not military targets. | |
| Prosecutors in Al-Mahdi's trial noted that the destruction during the rebel occupation of Timbuktu was among a series of recent cultural desecrations, including the razing of Palmyra in Syria by Isis; the bombing of Aleppo by Syrian combatants and Russia forces; and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban in 2001. | |
| A former teacher, Al-Mahdi was described by a former Madrassa tutor as the most brilliant pupil in his class, who had mastered the much-prized skill of learning the Koran by heart. | |
| His lawyer, Jean-Louis Gilissen, defended him as "an intelligent, reasonable and educated man" who had sought to do good in response to a "divine message." | |
| Founded by Tuareg tribes in the 5th century, Timbuktu has near mythical status as “the city of 333 saints” and the “Pearl of the Desert”. | |
| Unesco says the mosques and holy places of Timbuktu played an essential role in the spread of Islam in Africa at an early period, and parts of its historic centre were added to the World Heritage list in 1988. |