ICC Sentences Sudanese Janjaweed Militia Leader To 20 Years For Darfur Atrocities

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday sentenced Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, widely known as Ali Kushayb, to 20 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Sudan’s Darfur conflict more than 20 years ago.

Abd-Al-Rahman, 76, was convicted in October on 27 counts, including murder, torture, and orchestrating mass rapes and attacks on civilians.

Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, describing him as a central figure in the Janjaweed militias’ campaign of terror, which killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.

“He committed these crimes knowingly, wilfully, and, the evidence shows, with enthusiasm and vigor,” prosecutor Julian Nicholls said during sentencing proceedings.

Presiding Judge Joanna Korner noted that Abd-Al-Rahman not only gave orders that led directly to atrocities but also personally participated in them.

Abd-Al-Rahbman surrendered in the Central African Republic in June 2020 and was transferred to ICC custody shortly afterwards. His trial, which opened in April 2022, included testimony from 56 prosecution witnesses, statements from victims’ representatives, and 18 defence witnesses before closing arguments in December 2024.

The judges rejected the defence argument that he had limited authority and expressed empathy for the victims. The 20-year sentence, given his age, likely means he will die in prison.

This ruling marks the ICC’s first conviction related to the Darfur conflict, which erupted in 2003 when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Sudan’s government, accusing it of marginalising the region.

In response, the government mobilised Janjaweed militias to suppress the revolt, unleashing violence that the UN and human rights groups have described as genocide.

The United Nations Security Council referred the case to the ICC in 2005. Recent clashes in Darfur and across Sudan, particularly involving the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, widely seen as successors to the Janjaweed, have continued to cause ethnic killings and mass displacement.