Abd-Al-Rahman opens before Trial Chamber I of International Criminal Court

Mr Abd-Al-Rahman is accused of 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur, Sudan, between August 2003 and at least April 2004.

On 5 April 2022, the trial in the case The Prosecutor v. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman ("Ali Kushayb") opened before Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC-cpi.int) (“ICC” or “the Court”), composed of Judge Joanna Korner, Presiding Judge, Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou and Judge Althea Violet Alexis-Windsor. Mr Abd-Al-Rahman is accused of 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur, Sudan, between August 2003 and at least April 2004.

The trial started with the reading of the charges against Mr. Abd-Al-Rahman. The Chamber was satisfied that the accused understood the nature of the charges. The accused pleaded not-guilty to all the charges. Mr. Abd-Al-Rahman is represented by Principal Counsel Cyril Laucci and Associate Counsel Iain Edwards. 

The Court's Prosecutor Karim AA Khan QC and Senior Trial Lawyer Julian Nicholls took the floor for opening statements. This will be followed by a short unsworn statement by the accused and a short remark presented by the Legal Representatives of Victims, lawyers Natalie von Wistinghausen, Nasser Mohamed Amin Abdalla, and Anand Shah.

The first expert witness is scheduled to start testifying on 6 April 2022.

(With Inputs from APO)