Former Malian teacher might be the first to be prosecuted by the ICC for destroying cultural artefacts
The International Criminal Court will decide whether a former trainee teacher accused of damaging monuments in ancient Malian city of Timbuktu in the name of Islam will face a landmark trial.
Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is the first person to be accused of destroying cultural artefacts by ICC prosecutors. ICC has focused on human rights abuses mostly.
According to the Prosecutors at the ICC, al-Faqi lead a “morality squad” linked to the Islamic Court if Timbuktu, damaging nine mausoleums and the ancient Sidi Yahia mosque which date back to the 15th Century.
There has been divided opinion in the court. Some critics believe the court targets politically weak and has low conviction rate while others say sentences handed out have curbed the human rights situations.
“The conviction of (Congolese warlord) Thomas Lubanga arguably had a deterrent effect on the use of child soldiers,” said Bill Schabas, professor at Britain’s Middlesex University. “Maybe this will do the same for cultural monument destruction.”
Al-Faqi has denied the charges to the destruction and belonging to the Ansar Dine militant group, an ally to Al Queda in the Maghreb.
The ICC has been urged to charge Islamic State fighters for destroying the remains of the ancient city of Palmyra, but it is unable to do so because Syria is not a member of the court. The Taliban’s destruction of the 1,500-year old Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan in 2001 also attracted condemnation according to Reuters.
