ICC Convicts Former Central African Republic Rebel Commander

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has convicted former Central African Republic rebel commander Mahamat Said Abdel Kani on four counts of crimes against humanity, including torture and unlawful imprisonment.

The 56-year-old was found to have overseen the beating and mistreatment of detainees while heading a feared detention unit in the capital, Bangui, as the Central African Republic descended into civil war in 2013.

Said, wearing a blue sweatshirt and jeans, shook his head several times as presiding judge Miatta Maria Samba read out the findings in court.

The ICC acquitted him of three counts of war crimes. The court will determine his sentence at a later date.

Said ran the Central Office for the Repression of Banditry (OCRB) detention centre, where prisoners were subjected to torture and harsh conditions.

Judge Samba said one method of torture involved tying prisoners’ hands, elbows and feet tightly together behind their backs, a practice known as “arbatachar”.

Other detainees were beaten with ropes and whips and doused with water, the judge said.

The court also acknowledged the trauma suffered by victims, who described the lasting effects of their treatment on their lives and families.

One victim told the court that the mistreatment had left him “completely unbalanced” and that his life had been destroyed.

According to the ruling, some detainees were held in a cramped underground cell beneath Said’s office without sanitary facilities.

The cell was dark, dirty, poorly ventilated and covered in human waste, with detainees forced to urinate and defecate inside.

The judge said Said was involved in interrogating and mistreating detainees and was present when some of them were tortured.

Said was a senior commander of the Seleka rebel group, which overthrew President Francois Bozize in 2013 and contributed to the country’s subsequent sectarian conflict.

He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

SOURCE: AFP