Al Hassan case: Closing statements to take place on 23 - 25 May 2023
The closing statements in the case The Prosecutor v. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud are scheduled to take place from 23 to 25 May 2023 at the seat of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or the “Court”) in The Hague, The Netherlands. Practical information, in particular on how to attend or watch the closing statements, will be provided closer to the date of the hearings.
Statements will be made by the Office of the Prosecutor (maximum 4 hours), the Legal Representatives of Victims (maximum 1.5 hours), and the Defence (maximum 4 hours). These statements may be followed by questions from the Chamber. Subsequent to the closing statements, the judges will commence their deliberations and the judgment will be pronounced in due course.
ICC Trial Chamber X is composed of Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua (President Judge), Judge Tomoko Akane and Judge Kimberly Prost. Mr Al Hassan is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Timbuktu (Mali).
Order scheduling the closing statements
Background: Mr Al Hassan was transferred to the ICC on 31 March 2018 following a warrant of arrest issued by the Chamber on 27 March 2018 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The confirmation of charges hearing took place from 8 to 17 July 2019. On 30 September 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber I issued a confidential decision confirming the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity brought by the Prosecutor against Mr Al Hassan and committed him to trial. The redacted version of the decision was published on 13 November 2019. On 18 November 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber I rejected the Defence's request for leave to appeal the decision confirming the charges in the Al Hassan case. On 23 April 2020, Pre-Trial Chamber I issued a confidential decision partially granting the Prosecutor's request to modify the charges against Mr Al Hassan; the redacted version of this decision was made public on 11 May 2020. The trial opened on 14-15 July 2020, including with the opening statement of the Prosecutor and resumed on 8 September 2020, when the Prosecution started to present its evidence. 52 oral witnesses were called by the Prosecution at this stage. On 8 February 2022, the Legal Representatives of Victims made their opening statements before the judges. From 8 to 10 February 2022, the Legal Representatives called two witnesses to testify. On 9 May 2022, the Defence of Mr Al Hassan made its opening statement. The first Defence witness started testifying on 10 May 2022. 22 Defense witnesses appeared in court, the last having completed testimony on 3 November 2022. On 6 February 2023, the Defence notified the judges of the closure of its presentation of evidence. On 8 February 2023, Trial Chamber X declared the closure of the submission of evidence in this case and parties and participants were requested to file their final briefs.
For further information on this case, check here
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