The floor is now for the defense in the trial of Abdulaziz al-Hassan before the International Criminal Court. The man is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes during the occupation of the city by Aqmi and Ansar Dine in 2012 and early 2013. The trial opened in July 2020.
With our correspondent in The Hague, Stephanie Maupas
More than 50 witnesses testified during the first part of the trial at the request of the prosecutor. To demonstrate the role of Abdulaziz al-Hassan in the crimes, many experts were called to the bar, as well as victims and “insiders”, those people who have knowledge of the inner workings of an institution or a structure.
Some of the depositions took place partly behind closed doors. More than 1,946 victims are represented by lawyers in this case. One of them told the bar that she had been raped several times a day for three months. Following these rapes, she gave birth to a son, now rejected by the population, she explained. This statement is just one example of the horrific stories heard during this trial.
The lawyers of this former commissioner of the Islamic police should detail their strategy before calling the witnesses for the defense. At the start of the trial, they claimed that this Ansar Dine official at the material time had acted under duress.
His lawyers also tried to cancel an interrogation in which he justified the punishments – including whippings – inflicted on the population. But in his defence, he claims that his answers were extracted under torture. Arrested in April 2017 by Barkhane soldiers, he said he was then tortured by the Malian intelligence services. Arguments that the judges have so far not accepted.