The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken into custody a former Central African Republic (CAR) militia commander suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In a statement on Sunday, the court said authorities in CAR handed over Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, a leader of the Seleka faction, on account of an ICC arrest warrant issued under seal on January 7, 2019. The warrant relates to alleged crimes committed in the country’s capital, Bangui, in 2013.
A date for his initial appearance in The Hague has not yet been set.
Said’s arrest comes against the backdrop of a state of emergency in the CAR, with fighting between the country’s army, backed by UN, Russian and Rwandan troops and rebels seeking to overturn a December 27 vote in which President Faustin-Archange Touadera was declared the winner.
Former CAR rebel leader wanted for war crimes surrenders to ICC
By Songezo Ndlendle
Share
Cape Town - A former rebel group commander in the Central African Republic (CAR) who is suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity has been arrested after surrendering to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a statement issued on Sunday, the court said it had arrested Mahamat Saïd Abdel Kain, 50, under a warrant issued under seal on January 7, 2019, relating to alleged crimes from 2013. A date for his initial appearance in The Hague has not been set.
Saïd is a former commander of a coalition of mostly northern and predominantly Muslim rebels known as Seleka militia group that seized power in the CAR in March 2013.
Central African Republic: First Seleka Suspect in ICC Custody
Format
Important Step Needs Follow-Up with Higher Level Suspects
The surrender by Central African Republic authorities of the first Seleka-rebel suspect to face charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an important step toward justice for serious crimes committed by the two main warring factions in the country s civil conflict, Human Rights Watch said today.
Mahamat Said Abdel Kani was flown from the Central African Republic to ICC headquarters in The Hague on January 24, 2021. He is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed as a Seleka commander in Bangui, the capital, in 2013. The ICC issued the arrest warrant under seal on January 7, 2019.
Rebels mount deadly attack near Bangui We are seeing this arrest and surrender to the ICC as a step in the right direction in the fight against impunity, especially as this is the first time a judicial proceeding really targets a Seleka member, Alice Banens, legal adviser for the human rights organization Amnesty International, told DW.
Peter Knoope, an analyst from the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in South Africa, told DW that Touadera has always been serious about putting an end to impunity of militia members accused of horrific human rights abuses.
But he said that Touadera has to strike a difficult balance between a peace agreement and having people at the negotiation table agreeing on some form of cooperation in the future, and legal procedures and indictment.