The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sentenced Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, to 20 years in prison for committing atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Abd-Al-Rahman was convicted in October on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, and the orchestration of rape and other atrocities carried out by Janjaweed militias in Darfur over 20 years ago.
The conviction is a landmark for the ICC, marking the first verdict linked to the conflict in Darfur. Abd-Al-Rahman, 76, showed no reaction as Presiding Judge Joanna Korner passed the sentence.
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, underscoring the brutal nature of his actions.
The Darfur conflict erupted in 2003, with the Sudanese government mobilizing Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, to crush a rebellion by non-Arab groups.
The violence led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and 2.5 million displacements.
The ICC’s verdict has brought hope for justice to victims and their families, with UN rights chief Volker Turk calling it “an important acknowledgement of the enormous suffering endured by the victims”.
