1. Thank you Mr President. On behalf of the Office of the Prosecutor, I am Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Today, I am joined by my learned colleagues, Mr Julian Nicholls, Senior Trial Lawyer and Ms Jasmina Suljanovic, Case Manager. It is my honor and privilege to address you today.
2. Mr President, Your Honours, Mr Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, known more commonly by his alias "Ali Kushayb", is charged with 31 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. These include crimes of torture, rape and murder of civilians in the Wadi Salih and Mukjar Localities of West Darfur State, between at least August 2003 and at least April 2004.
- Counts 1-11 concern crimes committed in Kodoom, Bindisi and surrounding areas in August 2003;
- Counts 12-21 concern crimes committed in Mukjar and surrounding areas in February-March 2004; and
- Counts 22-31 concern crimes committed in Deleig and surrounding areas in March 2004.
3. Let me now turn to Mr Abd-Al-Rahman. Feared and revered in equal measure as the "colonel of colonels", he was a senior leader of the infamous Janjaweed Militia in the Wadi Salih and Mukjar Localities during the charged period.
4. During this period, Mr Abd-Al-Rahman and his Janjaweed Militia Forces, acting with military and police forces of the then Government of Sudan, attacked predominantly Fur towns and villages. In the course of these attacks, in locations such as Kodoom and Bindisi, between about 15 and about 16 August 2003, civilians were attacked, raped and murdered. Their homes and villages were destroyed. Thousands were forcibly displaced. Many fled to larger towns, desperately seeking sanctuary.
5. In these larger towns, rather than finding protection, civilians were rounded up, arrested, and detained in various locations. In these circumstances, in Mukjar in late February/early March 2004 and then shortly after in Deleig, men were loaded onto vehicles, taken a short distance away, and executed in cold blood. Mr Abd-Al-Rahman was present at and directly participated in these callous crimes.
6. The evidence shows that Mr Abd-Al-Rahman was a knowing, willing and energetic perpetrator of these crimes. He played a crucial role, leading attacks, committing murders, and ordering other murders.
7. The conduct that forms the basis of the charges in this case was part of an armed conflict in Darfur between the then Government of Sudan, acting together with Janjaweed Militia forces on the one side, and on the other, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement. Further, the acts that are charged as crimes against humanity were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population in the Wadi Salih and Mukjar Localities.
8. The victims of the Suspect's crimes are countless and their suffering immense. The pain inflicted on the victims of these crimes persists. The region of Darfur is still grappling with the devastation brought about by these events. Entire villages were destroyed. Many inhabitants of these targeted villages remain in camps for internally displaced persons and refugees to this day, 14 years since the first arrest warrant was issued in the Darfur situation. I stand here today in solidarity with the victims.
9. My Office has worked in difficult times, and against great odds, to come to the point where we are today. But we have remained focused when most had abandoned hope of progress in the situation and have looked at every opportunity to progress the case. Today, is a culmination of those efforts. A hearing on the confirmation of charges constitutes an important and concrete step in the process of seeking to achieve justice for the victims, through fair and transparent proceedings. In this case today, we seek justice for the victims of rape, murder, torture and other crimes committed in Darfur. Our evidence, we submit, will bear out the facts, the criminality and ultimately culpability in this case. My team and I are ready to present the Prosecution's case for the purposes of these confirmation of charges hearings.
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10. Mr President, Your Honours, through the course of the Prosecution's submissions, you will hear the accounts of witnesses whose lives have been shattered by the brutality and mercilessness of Mr Abd-Al-Rahman and his Janjaweed Militia forces.
11. You will hear how the Janjaweed Militia employed rape as a weapon to terrorise and humiliate Fur women and girls. Witness P-0011 describes being captured by a member of the Janjaweed as she fled the August 2003 attack on Bindisi:
