ICC cuts prison sentence for Malian jihadist by two years

Thursday, November 25, the International Criminal Court (ICC) declared to have reduced by two years the prison sentence of the Malian jihadist Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, condemned in 2016 for his role in the destruction of the protected mausoleums in Timbuktu. The appeal chamber of the court, based in The Hague, “Decided to reduce the sentence initially set at nine years by two years”, the ICC said in a statement, adding that “This sentence will therefore be served on September 18, 2022”.

In October, the Touareg Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi asked to be released, claiming to have become another man in detention. He was sentenced in September 2016 to nine years in prison for having intentionally directed attacks against the door of the Sidi Yahia mosque and nine of the mausoleums of Timbuktu (northern Mali), classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. and destroyed with a pickax, hoe and chisel.

The judges “Took into account several elements such as the social instability that an early release could cause in the north of Mali, the possibilities of resocialization and reintegration of Mr. Al Mahdi and the cooperation he has shown since he was handed over to the court in September 2015 ”, said the ICC. “Bearing in mind the views expressed by the Republic of Mali and by the victims, the judges considered that the reduction should not apply to all of the time remaining to be served by Mr. Al Mahdi”, she added, specifying that “The necessary arrangements for the release of Mr. Al Mahdi will be taken when the time comes”, in September 2022.

Born circa 1975, Mr. Al Mahdi was a member of Ansar Dine, one of the jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda that controlled northern Mali for about ten months in 2012, before being largely driven out by an international intervention launched in January 2013 by France. He was the head of the Hisbah, the Islamic mores brigade.