Al Mahdi pleaded guilty and expressed remorse Monday for his role in leading the destruction of nine mausoleums and a mosque door in Timbuktu and urged Muslims around the world not to commit similar acts, saying “they are not going to lead to any good for humanity”.
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Mahdi is accused of “intentionally directing attacks” against nine of Timbuktu’s famous mausoleums as well as the Sidi Yahia mosque between June 30 and July 11, 2012.
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.
His ICC trial is a collection of firsts: the first to be brought by the world’s only permanent war crimes court over the extremist violence in Mali, the first jihadist to face justice before the court, and the first time an ICC defendant has said he will plead guilty. Mahdi faces up to 30 years in prison.
Ahmad al-Fahdi al-Mahdi said he had been caught in an “evil wave” during Mali’s 2012 civil war when he led a jihadi team armed with pickaxes that leveled 14 adobe mausoleums in the city of Timbuktu.
“The intention in nearly every case is to attack the dignity” of those who attach importance to the wrecked buildings or monuments, says Richard Goldstone, the first chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. 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.
Mahdi was a member of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb during its two year occupation of Timbuktu.
“I seek their forgiveness and I ask them to look at me as a son who has lost his way”, he said, adding that he was also seeking forgiveness from “the ancestors of the mausoleums I have destroyed”.
At the time of their destruction, the cemeteries were classified as world heritage sites, and under the protection of UNESCO.
“He wants to be truthful to himself and he wants to admit the acts that he has committed”, Aouini said, adding he also sought “pardon” for his acts. One year later, he was transferred to the ICC by authorities in Niger.
“We. deeply regret that the charges against Al Mahdi were not widened to include crimes against the civilian population, including sexual and gender-based crimes, whose victims are far too often ignored during accountability processes”, FIDH member organizations said in a statement ahead of the trial.
“These sites were dedicated to religion”, she said.
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UNESCO renews also its full support to the people and government of Mali, and in particular to the local communities of Timbuktu, who have shown vast courage and determination to rebuild their Heritage, with the support of the global community.
