Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
War crimes court orders Mali radical to pay E2.7m for Timbuktu rampage
Source: The Guardian and agencies
War crimes court orders Mali radical to pay €2.7m for Timbuktu rampage
Judges order Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi to pay damages for destroying 10 mausoleums and religious sites in 2012
Agencies in The Hague
Thursday 17 August 2017 11.13 BST
A former Islamist militant who was jailed for destroying holy sites in Timbuktu is liable for damages of €2.7m (£2.5m), judges at the international criminal court (ICC) have ruled.
Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi was imprisoned for nine years last year after pleading guilty to war crimes for his involvement in the destruction of 10 mausoleums and religious sites in Timbuktu in 2012.
Jihadis used pickaxes and bulldozers to attack the mausoleums and the centuries-old door of the Sidi Yahya mosque.
The sites were built during Mali’s golden age in the 14th century as a trading hub and centre of Sufism, a branch of Islam seen as idolatrous by some groups.
The assault on a world heritage site triggered global outrage, and Mahdi’s case was the first to come before the Hague-based court as a crime of cultural destruction.
-snip-
Judges order Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi to pay damages for destroying 10 mausoleums and religious sites in 2012
Agencies in The Hague
Thursday 17 August 2017 11.13 BST
A former Islamist militant who was jailed for destroying holy sites in Timbuktu is liable for damages of €2.7m (£2.5m), judges at the international criminal court (ICC) have ruled.
Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi was imprisoned for nine years last year after pleading guilty to war crimes for his involvement in the destruction of 10 mausoleums and religious sites in Timbuktu in 2012.
Jihadis used pickaxes and bulldozers to attack the mausoleums and the centuries-old door of the Sidi Yahya mosque.
The sites were built during Mali’s golden age in the 14th century as a trading hub and centre of Sufism, a branch of Islam seen as idolatrous by some groups.
The assault on a world heritage site triggered global outrage, and Mahdi’s case was the first to come before the Hague-based court as a crime of cultural destruction.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/17/war-crimes-court-icc-orders-mali-radical-pay-damages-timbuktu-rampage-ahmad-al-faqi-al-mahdi
