Prosecutors have called for a life sentence for a Sudanese militia leader convicted of committing crimes against humanity during the East African country’s previous civil war more than two decades ago.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened a sentencing hearing for Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (also known as Ali Kushayb) on Tuesday.

The previous day, prosecutor Julian Nicholls had demanded the maximum penalty for the “enthusiastic, energetic and effective perpetrator of abuses carried out in the western Darfur region”.

Prosecutors say that among his crimes, Abd-Al-Rahman killed two people with an axe.

“You literally have an axe murderer before you,” Nicholls told the judges in The Hague, as Abd-Al-Rahman looked on. “Only a life sentence will serve the interest of retribution a

See Full Page