ICC sets date for Darfur janjaweed leader Kushayb war crimes trial

The trial on 31 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against former Darfur janjaweed leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abdelrahman (also known as Ali Kushayb), will begin on April 5, 2022, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, announced today.

An official statement this afternoon says that Trial Chamber I of the ICC composed of Prseiding Judge Joanna Korner, PJudge Reine Alapini-Gansou, and Judge Althea Violet Alexis-Windsor, scheduled the opening of the trial in the case The Prosecutor vs Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (‘Ali Kushayb) for 5 April 2022.

In July, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC issued a unanimous decision confirming all 31 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Kushayb, and committed him to trial before a Trial Chamber.

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, Kushayb initially appeared before the ICC on June 15.He then appeared before Pre-Trial Chamber II on May 24-26.Dressed in a grey suit and flanked by two (socially distanced) security officers, Kushayb (referred to officially for court purposes as Abd-Al-Rahman) listened calmly to three days of submissions from the prosecution and legal representation of the victims.

Kushayb has yet to enter a plea, and his defence has thus far been based largely on insisting that his name is Abd-Al-Rahman, and that he is not the person referred to as Ali Kushayb.

Warrant of arrest

The ICC issued arrest warrants against former Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Ahmed Haroun, and Kushayb in 2007. Kushayb was transferred to the ICC’s custody on June 9, 2020 after surrendering himself voluntarily in the Central African Republic. Upon his arrest, the Sudanese government announced its support for his transfer to the ICC. Kushayb is also charged with a number of crimes by the Sudanese authorities.