Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi – also known as Abu Tourab – is charged with destroying medieval shrines, tombs of Sufi saints, and a mosque dating back to the 15th century, all of which formed part of a Unesco world heritage site in Timbuktu in northern Mali.
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“I plead guilty”, Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi said during his trial at the International Criminal Court, where he admitted to the charge of cultural destruction.
Born around in 1975 in Agoune, 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Timbuktu, Mahdi was a member of the jihadist group Ansar Dine of Tuareg which joined forces with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Mahdi’s guilty plea will likely mean his trial will be over soon, perhaps by the end of this week.
This first trial at an worldwide tribunal for the destruction of historic monuments and buildings sends a strong message on the determination of the global community to ensure that this type of crime is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, not only in Mali but everywhere in the World.
Mahdi’s guilty plea is likely to drastically change the course of what might have been a lengthy trial that would have involved bringing witnesses to The Hague from Timbuktu and other West African desert cities where jihadis held sway for nearly a year.
It is the first time that the court in The Hague has tried a case of cultural destruction.
“What must it have felt like in that fateful day in 2012 … to witness the wanton destruction of that cultural heritage, a deliberate assault on one’s identity, spiritual beliefs and prized cultural possessions?” she said. UNESCO remains fully mobilized in the comprehensive and fair analysis of this specific case and will spare no effort to support the work of the ICC and prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, in full respect of its mandate and competence.
In the build-up to the hearing, prosecutor Fatima Bensouda compared the attacks to Islamic State’s smashing of monuments in the Syrian city of Palmyra and the Taliban’s 2001 destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afghanistan.
Still, cultural concerns should not override other serious crimes committed by religious extremists, experts advise.
“I would like to seek the pardon of all the whole people of Timbuktu”, he said, adding he also begged forgiveness from “the ancestors of the mausoleums I have destroyed”. Under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors are recommending a sentence of nine to 11 years out of a possible 30, all while avoiding a potentially lengthy and expensive trial. He and his associates “unleashed a destructive rage” that damaged priceless monuments for no reason other than their extremist worldview, she said. Kassongo said the destruction of the World Heritage-listed sites was also a financial blow to residents, crippling tourism in the remote African city.
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The judges will pronounce a decision and a possible sentence after further proceedings. A maximum sentence would be 30 years. One year later, he was transferred to the ICC by authorities in Niger. He has become the first man to plead guilty at the court.
