The Hague, October 9 (Darfur24)
The International Criminal Court (ICC) will announce the sentence of Ali Muhammad Abd al-Rahman (“Kushayb”) on November 17, following his conviction on 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur in the early 2000s.
Lead prosecutor Julian Nicholls said during an online press briefing with Sudanese media that the expected sentence is life imprisonment due to the gravity of the crimes. However, he stressed that Kushayb’s conviction does not automatically imply the guilt of other ICC fugitives, such as Ahmed Haroun, who must appear before the court to be tried.
Nicholls added that Kushayb will not serve his sentence in the Netherlands, where the ICC is based. Instead, the court will later designate a member state of the Rome Statute to host his imprisonment.
On the defense side, Kushayb’s lawyer, Cyril Lucchi, confirmed that his client has the right to appeal the verdict before the ICC Appeals Chamber. He said the defense did not deny that atrocities occurred in Darfur, but argued that the accused was not the individual originally sought under the name “Kushayb.”
Lucchi added that Kushayb voluntarily surrendered to the ICC after learning that local authorities were searching for someone with the same name, stating during his first court appearance that he came “in search of justice.”
Natalie Vaughn, the legal representative of the victims, said more than 1,500 victims linked to the case are awaiting compensation. She reported that several victims in refugee camps in Chad expressed relief at the conviction after years of waiting for justice.