Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday requested a life sentence for a Janjaweed militia leader convicted of playing a central role in atrocities committed in Darfur over 20 years ago.
Ali Kushayb was found guilty of ordering mass executions and bludgeoning two prisoners to death with an axe.
Prosecutor Julian Nichols told judges in The Hague: “You literally have the axe killer before you.”
Kushayb was convicted last month on 27 charges, including mass murder and rape, as part of the Janjaweed militia’s campaign of killings and destruction between 2003 and 2004. This was the first time the court convicted someone suspected of crimes in Darfur.
Nichols said: “He committed these crimes knowingly, deliberately, and enthusiastically, as the evidence clearly shows.”
