Timbuktu ‘mausoleum destroyer’ sent to ICC

The case, the first ever war-crimes prosecution in The Hague for acts of cultural destruction, could set a precedent for further arrests for similar attacks on historic buildings in places such as Palmyra, the ancient site in Syria where temples and tombs have been blown up by Islamic State extremists in recent weeks.

Authorities of Niger surrendered Al Faqi to the court following an arrest warrant issued on September 18.

Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, also known as Abu Tourab, arrived shortly before dawn on Saturday in the Netherlands, where he was handed over to officials of the worldwide Criminal Court (ICC).

She called the destruction “a callous assault on the dignity and identity of entire populations, and their religious and historical roots”.

The suspect is accused of intentionally orchestrating attacks on the sites in 2012. He is also the first case to be brought for the unrest in Mali.

Prosecutors allege that Al Faqi was linked to an Islamic court set up by extremists in Timbuktu and participated in carrying out its orders. He is charged with overseeing the destruction of nine mausoleums and a mosque in Timbuktu in 2012 after the legendary city in northern Mali was captured by Islamists with links to al-Qaeda. The court has evidence that “establish reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Al Faqi is criminally responsible for having committed, individually and jointly with others, facilitated or otherwise contributed to the commission of war crimes”.

The court has been examining events in Mali since 2012, when Islamist Tuareg rebels seized large parts of the country’s north and imposed strict Muslim religious law and began desecrating ancient shrines, mosques and monuments in Timbuktu.

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement that al-Mahdi’s detention “is a welcome development”.

The mausoleums were constructed to pay homage to deceased saints who were regarded as pious, great humanists and scholars of their time – but were considered blasphemous by the militants.

However, 370,000 of the priceless parchments were smuggled to Bamako in 2012 to protect them from the jihadists, and archivists in Mali’s capital are now painstakingly classifying and digitising them.