Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Issue 1 | Page 153

The ICC is governed by the Rome Statute, which was adopted in ���� and
entered into force in ����. Under Article � of the statute, War Crimes explicitly
include ‘Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion,
education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals…
provided they are not military objectives’ (Note �). The court’s then newly
appointed Chief Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, made an immediate public
reference to this provision when Islamic mausoleums were intentionally
destroyed in Timbuktu, Mali in July ����, warning the perpetrators, allegedly
members of extremist group Ansar Dine, that their actions could constitute
war crimes. The Prosecutor’s office, at the request of the Malian government,
began preliminary investigations and subsequently opened a case looking
into various alleged crimes perpetrated in northern Mali.
In September ����, Malian authorities arrested Ansar Dine member Ahmad
Al Faqi Al Mahdi and handed him over to the court. His trial took place
in late August ����, and at its opening, Al Mahdi admitted guilt as to the
war crime of intentionally directing attacks against historic monuments
and buildings dedicated to religion, including nine mausoleums and one
mosque in Timbuktu.
The prosecution’s evidence was substantial – part of the highly public style of
destruction favored by Da’esh, Ansar Dine and other extremist groups. The
prosecution presented plentiful and incriminating video and photographic
evidence of these acts of cultural destruction before the international court.
Al Mahdi expressed remorse and publicly disavowed the ideological
frameworks that persuaded him to take part in the destruction. His admitted
Scan here to watch the Destruction of Memory
trailer
https://vimeo.com/���������
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