In Timbuktu
Behind the scenes with outreach officers
After their first mission to Timbuktu, Margot and Mohamed from the ICC’s country office in Mali write about the ten days mission spent with people most affected by crimes allegedly committed in the region, in 2012.
Crimes committed in Timbuktu are part of the charges brought in the case of Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz, allegedly a former member of Ansar Eddine (a movement associated with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and de facto chief of Islamic police in Timbuktu. Charges include torture, rape, sexual slavery, forced marriages, persecution, cruel treatment, passing sentences without a trial, and attacks against religious and historic monuments, among others.
Another member of Ansar Eddine, Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, pleaded guilty to destroying religious and historic buildings in Timbuktu, Mali, in June and July 2012. He was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment.