The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sentenced Islamist militant Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi to nine years in jail for the destruction of ancient shrines in Timbuktu, Mali, in 2012.
Al-Mahdi admitted to leading a rebel force that destroyed the historic mausoleums at the world heritage site.
The ICC said the former teacher was cooperative and showed remorse for his acts.
Al-Mahdi’s case is the first that the international court has handled based on cultural destruction as a war crime.
It is also the first time the court has tried a jihadist.
Al-Mahdi – described as a “religious scholar” in court documents – led rebels who used pickaxes and crowbars to destroy nine of Timbuktu’s mausoleums and the centuries-old door of the city’s Sidi Yahia mosque.
The court found he not only offered “logistical and moral support” for the attacks, but also took part in the physical destruction of at least five out of the 10 buildings.
Admitting to the charges last month, al-Mahdi claimed he had been swept up in “an evil wave”.
