ICC Sentences Sudan Militia Leader to 20 Years for Darfur Atrocities

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have sentenced Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, to 20 years in prison for his role in a campaign of terror in Sudan’s Darfur region more than two decades ago. Kushayb was convicted in October on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, and orchestrating mass rapes. The ICC concluded that he played a central role in coordinating militia attacks during the Darfur conflict, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions. Kushayb surrendered in the Central African Republic in June 2020 and was transferred to ICC custody. His trial, which began in April 2022, featured testimony from 56 prosecution witnesses and statements from victims’ representatives before closing arguments in December 2024. This case marks the ICC’s first conviction linked to the Darfur conflict, which the UN once described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.