Suspected Mali war criminal sent to international court

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA

Mali handed over a suspected war criminal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Saturday, the international tribunal said.

According to a statement, "Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud was surrendered by Malian authorities to the ICC and arrived at the court's detention in the Netherlands."

The ICC accuses Al Hassan of war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed in 2012 and 2013 in Timbuktu, Mali.

The tribunal said the suspect is allegedly a member of Ansar Eddine group which is linked to Al-Qaeda and committed crimes against civilians in Timbuktu.

Al Hassan is further alleged to have taken part in the destruction of the mausoleums of Muslim saints in Timbuktu, the statement added.

This is case of this nature, after Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, who was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison for war crimes.