ICC convicts Central African militia leader

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Wednesday convicted a former Seleka militia leader from the Central African Republic of crimes against humanity including torture.

Prosecutors accused Mahamat Said Abdel ⁠Kani of running a prison where suspected supporters of then-President Francois Bozize were beaten and tortured. He denied all charges.

Presiding judge Miatta Maria Samba said that Said and others oversaw beatings and torture of prisoners as part of a plan to target perceived Bozize supporters in the capital Bangui.

He was found guilty on four counts of crimes against humanity including persecution and torture. The judges dismissed several ‌war ⁠crimes charges, finding that at the time the alleged crimes were committed the armed conflict had already ended.

Said, dressed in jeans and a blue sweatshirt, gave no reaction as the verdict was read out.

A separate hearing ⁠will determine his sentence.

The predominantly Muslim rebels known as Seleka, or “alliance” in the Sango language, seized ​power in 2013 as part of the Central ​African Republic’s ⁠long-running civil war, ousting Bozize. Their rule gave rise to opposing “anti-Balaka” Christian-dominated militias.

The ICC has been investigating the violence in the ⁠Central African Republic since 2014. It has convicted two “anti-Balaka” leaders, but Said is the first Seleka member to be convicted.-Reuters

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