Sudanese militia commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, widely known as Ali Kushayb, has been handed a 20-year prison sentence by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur over two decades ago.
At 76, Kushayb was found guilty in October on 27 counts connected to brutal assaults carried out between 2003 and 2004. His conviction marks the first ICC trial linked directly to atrocities from the Darfur conflict.
Kushayb was a top figure in the Janjaweed, a militia backed by the Sudanese government and accused of razing villages, murdering civilians, and committing extensive sexual violence.
Their violent campaign is believed to have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and forced millions into displacement.
Appearing in court dressed in a pale blue suit, Kushayb remained expressionless as Judge Joanna Korner delivered his punishment on Tuesday.
The court concluded that he not only led Janjaweed fighters but also participated in the attacks himself. Judge Korner stated that he directed troops to “wipe out” non-Arab communities and ordered them to “leave no one alive.”
Throughout the hearings, witnesses recounted harrowing memories of villages burned to the ground, boys and men executed, and women subjected to sexual enslavement.
