Name: Prosecutors seek life term for Darfur militia axe murderer
Uploaded: 2025-11-17T15:11:31.910Z
Duration: 2 min 9 s
Description: An Internation Criminal Court sentencing heard on Monday (November 17) that prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for a man convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur conflict more than two decades ago.

An Internation Criminal Court sentencing heard on Monday (November 17) that prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for a man convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur conflict more than two decades ago.

The Hague

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have requested a life sentence for Ali Mohamed Ali Abdel Rahman, who was convicted in October on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in atrocities committed in Sudan's Darfur region over two decades ago. Abdel Rahman, identified as a member of the Janjaweed militia, was described by prosecutors as an enthusiastic perpetrator of abuses, including murder and torture.

This case is the ICC's first successful prosecution linked to the Darfur conflict, which began in 2003 and resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. Defense lawyers argued Abdel Rahman was a victim of mistaken identity and requested a maximum seven-year sentence. The situation in Sudan remains volatile, with ongoing violence and humanitarian crises reported in Darfur.

Prosecutors seek life term for Darfur militia 'axe murderer'

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have said they are seeking a life sentence for a militia commander who committed atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region more than two decades ago. Ali Mohamed Ali Abdel Rahman was convicted in October on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture and the orchestration of rape. It was the ICC's first successful prosecution linked to the Darfur conflict. It erupted in 2003 when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Sudan's government. The prosecution argued that Abdel Rahman was a member of the mostly Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, which the then-government mobilised to crush the revolt. Hundreds of thousands were killed in the ethnically driven violence that has been widely labelled a genocide. At a special sentencing hearing, prosecutor Julian Nichols said Abdel Rahman had been an enthusiastic, energetic and effective perpetrator of abuses carried out in Darfur. ''You literally have an axe murderer before you,'' Nichols said, saying Abdel Rahman had at one point used an axe to kill two people. Lawyers for the defendant had at one stage argued that he was the innocent victim of mistaken identity. In court documents, they have called for a maximum of seven years in prison with credit for time served, which could see Abdel Rahman freed in months. Sudan is again witnessing ethnically driven violence in the war that began in 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, a paramilitary force that has its roots in the Janjaweed. Tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced. The violence has also created what the UN calls the world's largest humanitarian crisis, including several areas being plunged into famine. Fighting has recently been focused on Darfur. After the capture of al-Fasha by the RSF last month, reports emerged of mass killings in the Darfur city, prompting the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross to warn that history was repeating.

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