Yesterday, the trial of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman before the International Criminal Court in The Hague entered its final stage after two and a half years, as the prosecution, defence and legal representative for victims began presenting their closing oral arguments. Iain Edwards has been co-counsel for Mr Abd-Al-Rahman’s defence since July 2021.
Mr Abd-Al-Rahman is alleged to have been a commander of the Arab militia in Darfur, Sudan commonly known as the Janjaweed. He is charged with 31 counts of murder, rape, forcible transfer, persecution and torture as crimes against humanity, and numerous war crimes, all arising out of the conflict in West Darfur between August 2003 and April 2004.
One of the key issues in the case is the client’s identity. Many witnesses testified that they knew the Janjaweed commander to be a man with the nickname “Ali Kushayb”. The prosecution claims that Mr Abd-Al-Rahman and Ali Kushayb are the same person, but this is disputed by the defence. The Trial Chamber heard from over 100 witnesses, both orally and in writing, in a trial significantly complicated by the outbreak of civil war in Sudan in April 2023.
This case is the first at the ICC to deal with the conflict in Darfur. It is also the first case to be referred to the ICC by the United Nations Security Council in respect of a State (Sudan) that is not a party to the Court’s Statute. This has provided a unique opportunity for the defence to advance novel jurisdictional challenges.
The Trial Chamber’s verdict is expected in the first half of 2025.
