Ahmad al Faqi al Mahdi, who is aged about 40, was the first Islamist extremist to be charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the first to face a charge of cultural destruction.
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ICC prosecutors allege Mahdi was a member of Ansar Dine, a mainly ethnic Tuareg movement that in 2012 took control of northeastern Timbuktu along with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). It is expected that al-Mahd will plead guilty to the charges. The court’s recent enforcement of the statute could set a precedent for similar cases like ISIL’s destruction of the ancient city of Palmyra a year ago.
Numerous mausoleums date back to Timbuktu’s days of glory in the Middle Ages, when it was one of the greatest centres of learning and trade in the Islamic world.
But activists say the court is missing an opportunity to file more charges against the al-Qaida-linked radical, Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, for war crimes including rape and sexual slavery.
Like ISIS, which has laid waste to the ancient cities of Nimrud and Palmyra in the Middle East, Ansar Dine declared it would establish an Islamist state and enforce strict Sharia law with little room for cultural or religious tolerance.
“We are also investigating other crimes”, she said.
Archaeologists hope, in light of the prevalent war on art, that the trial will send a hard-hitting message to groups that wrecking culturally cherished artefacts will not go unpunished.
Court prosecutors say the jihadists’ first attempted to dissuade Timbuktu’s residents from their long-held practice of worshipping the shrines, but after failing set upon their wholesale destruction.
Imploring forgiveness, including from the people of Timbuktu, he said, “I would like them to look at me like a son that has lost his way, and to accept my regrets”.
A former Malian rebel leader has pleaded guilty at the International Criminal Court to destroying priceless monuments in Timbuktu in 2012.
The prosecutors revealed at the start of trial that they had made a deal with the defence team to ask for a jail term of nine to 11 years. In return, Mahdi said he would not appeal.
The court’s chief prosecutor has likened the case to the destruction previous year by Islamic State extremists of historic ruins in the Syrian city of Palmyra. Judges will issue a formal verdict and pass sentence at a later hearing.
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They have also asked the court to expand the charges against Mahdi, arguing that his morality brigade was an accomplice to the abuse, she said.
