Jihadist who destroyed ancient shrines jailed
A jihadist who pleaded guilty to destroying ancient monuments in Mali with pick-axes and bulldozers has been jailed for nine years.
Judges ruled that Ahmad al-Faqi al Mahdi led the destruction of shrines on the UNESCO world heritage site in Timbuktu four years ago.
During the tribunal at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the extremist apologised for his actions and said he had been overtaken by “evil spirits.”
The court heard that Mahdi was a member of a jihadist group linked to Al-Qaeda, and had organised the wrecking of the monuments in June and July 2012.
Presiding judge Raul Pangalangan said Mahdi “supervised the destruction and gave instructions to the attackers”, adding the crime had “significant gravity”.
Mahdi had faced a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, but prosecutors had asked for a shorter jail term, which they said would recognise both the severity of the crime and that Mahdi was the first person to plead guilty.
Some of the sites have been rebuilt including this door of the Sidi Yahia mosque
The landmark verdict is the first to focus solely on cultural destruction as a war crime and the first arising out of the conflict in Mali.
Legal experts hope the judgement will act as a deterrent to those bent on razing the world’s cultural heritage, which UN chief Ban Ki-moon recently condemned as “tearing at the fabric of societies”.
Mahdi, who is aged between 30 and 40, pleaded guilty to “intentionally directing” attacks on nine mausoleums and a centuries-old mosque.
Last month, the former teacher had asked for forgiveness when videos were shown of him and other extremists knocking down the shrines.
Founded between the fifth and 12th centuries by Tuareg tribes, Timbuktu has been dubbed “the city of 333 saints” and the “pearl of the desert” for the number of Muslim sages buried there.
Revered as a centre of Islamic learning during its golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries, it was however considered idolatrous by the jihadists who swept across Mali’s remote north in early 2012.
Jihadist who destroyed ancient shrines jailed
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