Prison sentences totalling 27 years were handed to a pair of former Central African Republic (CAR) Anti-Balaka militia leaders by the International Criminal Court (ICC) this week.
Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona were, Vibhu Misra reported for the United Nations (UN), convicted of multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity in The Hague, Netherlands. Sentencing followed them being found guilty – beyond any reasonable doubt – of leading and facilitating attacks on civilians in the capital, Bangui, and the country’s west during the 2013/14 civil war.
Thousands were killed in violence that swept the CAR following a 2012 coup led by the mainly Muslim rebel coalition, Séléka. Fighting became sectarian when Anti-Balaka militia started a campaign of reprisal attacks.
ICC Trial Chamber V found Yekatom responsible for crimes committed in the context of an attack on Bangui, events at Yamwara – a school where he had established a base – and during the advance of his group on the PK9-Mbaïki axis. These included murder, torture, forcible transfer, deportation and directing an attack against a building dedicated to religion.
Ngaïssona was convicted for aiding and abetting many of the same crimes, as well as persecution, forcible displacement and cruel treatment.
Both men were found to have targeted Muslims based on the Anti-Balaka perception of collective guilt for Séléka abuses.
The judges sentenced Yekatom to 15 years and Ngaïssona to 12 years, with time served to be deducted.
Charges of war crimes of pillaging and directing an attack against a religious building during the attack on Bossangoa were not upheld while those of conscription, enlistment and use of children were also not upheld against the pair.
The Chamber noted religion was instrumentalised by armed groups during the conflict and the violence was not initially religious in nature. Witnesses testified Muslims and Christians lived together peacefully prior to the conflict.
The convictions mark the end of a trial that began in February 2021. Over the course of proceedings, the prosecution called 114 witnesses, while the defence teams called 56. All told 1 965 victims participated in the trial through legal representatives.
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