Initial appearance of Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud scheduled for 4 April 2018

The initial appearance of Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud ("Al Hassan") before the single judge of Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or "Court"), judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, is scheduled for Wednesday, 4 April 2018, at 15:00 (The Hague local time) in Courtroom I. Mr Al Hassan was transferred to the ICC on 31 March 2018 following an arrest warrant issued by the Chamber on 27 March 2018 for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

During the initial appearance hearing, the single judge will verify the identity of the suspect and the language in which he is able to follow the proceedings. He will be informed of the charges against him.

Background:  According to the arrest warrant, Mr Al Hassan, a Malian national born on 19 September 1977 in the community of Hangabera, about 10 kilometres north of Goundam in the region of Timbuktu, Mali, and belonging to the Tuareg/Tamasheq tribe Kel Ansar, was a member of Ansar Eddine and de facto chief of Islamic police. He is also alleged to have been involved in the work of the Islamic court in Timbuktu and to have participated in executing its decisions. Mr Al Hassan is further alleged to have taken part in the destruction of the mausoleums of Muslim saints in Timbuktu using Islamic police forces in the field, and to have participated in the policy of forced marriages which victimized the female inhabitants of Timbuktu and led to repeated rapes and the sexual enslavement of women and girls.

The Chamber is satisfied that the evidence submitted by the Prosecution provides reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Al Hassan is criminally responsible under article 25(3)(a) or 25(3)(b) of the Rome Statute for crimes against humanity (torture, rape and sexual slavery; persecution of the inhabitants of Timbuktu on religious and gender grounds; and other inhumane acts) and for war crimes (rape and sexual slavery; violence to person and outrages upon personal dignity; attacks intentionally directed against buildings dedicated to religion and historic monuments; and the passing of sentences without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all judicial guarantees which are generally recognized as indispensable) committed in Timbuktu, Mali, between April 2012 and January 2013.

Ordonnance fixant la date de première comparution d'Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud

Webstreaming of the hearing 
The hearing can be followed live on the ICC website at: 
http://player.cdn.tv1.eu/statics/66005/icc.html

Attending the hearing

• Members of the diplomatic corps, NGOs and other members of the public can request attendance via email to: [email protected]. Attendees must present a valid passport or valid ID with a photo at the main entrance of the Court (at: Oude Waalsdorperweg 10, 2597 AK The Hague).
• Journalists wishing to cover the hearing can request accreditation via email to: [email protected]. All journalists must present a valid press card, and a valid passport or valid ID with a photo, at the main entrance of the Court (at: Oude Waalsdorperweg 10, 2597 AK The Hague).

Please note that individuals who do not confirm their attendance in advance cannot be guaranteed access to the hearings. In order to avoid delays in accessing the building, those attending are advised to arrive one hour before the hearings start.

ICC Media Centre 
For media representatives wishing to use the Court's media facilities, the Media Centre will open at 08:30. The ICC Media Centre is located in the building's 'Court Tower'. It is composed of hot desk areas, which can sit up to 104 people, and two interview rooms. The Media Centre distributes the video and embedded audio of the hearing, via HD-SDI with a female BNC connection. Journalists wishing to connect to this should bring compatible equipment and a BNC cable. Power is provided (European plug). Wi-Fi connection is available in the Media Centre.

AV materials 
Filming or photography is strictly prohibited inside the Court building, apart from the interview rooms and the Media Centre area.

Images of the hearing will be available for download on an FTP server in video (MPEG-4) and audio (MPEG-3) format, and for viewing on the official ICC YouTube Channel. For information on audio-visual matters, please contact [email protected]

Parking facilities
Media representatives can use the ICC's Visitor Parking.

SNG vehicles 
The ICC Parking includes an area for SNG vehicles. BNC connections are available and the video format is HD-SDI with embedded Audio (8 dual mono pairs): Channel 1 – Floor language (international audio); Channel 2 - English interpretation; Channel 3 - French interpretation; Channel 4 - 8 - Other languages, or if no interpretation then Floor language will be sent.

For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: [email protected].

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