A war crimes suspect in the Central African Republic detained his opponents in a hole under his desk and tortured them until they begged to be killed, the prosecutor general of the International Criminal Court said Tuesday (October 12) (CPI).
Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, 51, an alleged commander of the Muslim-dominated Seleka rebel coalition, which was responsible for widespread violence in the country in 2013, is accused of running two detention centers during the conflict.
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The Hague-based ICC is holding hearings this week to determine whether the prosecutor's 14 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Mahamat Said Abdel Kani should be confirmed, which would open the way to trial.
Magistrates have 60 days to make their decision.
"
He cannot plead ignorance
"
According to the prosecutor, Mahamat Said Abdel Kani personally mistreated people favorable to former Central African President François Bozizé, ousted from power by the Seleka. “
People have been detained in appalling conditions with no respect for their humanity,
” said ICC Attorney General Karim Khan, who was making his first appearance before the court since taking office in June.
The prosecution showed a photo of an underground cell nicknamed "
the hole
", covered with wooden planks and a desk,
during a hearing
. “
Above them (the prisoners) was Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, the area above was his office,
” said Karim Khan. “
Literally standing on their heads, trampling on their dignity, trampling on their rights, he cannot plead ignorance,
” he continued. The prisoners were handcuffed for weeks and were subjected to fake drownings and forced to wear balaclavas filled with pepper, the prosecution said.
Mahamat Said Abdel Kani was handed over in January by the authorities in Bangui to the ICC, on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by one of the judges of the jurisdiction in 2019. Two former Central African warlords, Patrice- Edouard Ngaïssona and Alfred Yekatom, who led anti-balaka militias - mostly Christian and animist, founded by François Bozizé to fight against the Seleka - are currently on trial by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
