AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands: An Islamist rebel suspected of attacking mosques and monuments in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu has been handed over to the International Criminal Court, the first ever detained for wrecking cultural heritage.
The court said early on Saturday that the man was handed over by Niger overnight and was now in its seaside detention center in The Hague, seat of the tribunal.
The court has been examining events in Mali since 2012, when Islamist Tuareg rebels seized large parts of the country’s north and imposed strict Shariah law and began desecrating ancient shrines, mosques and monuments in Timbuktu. French and Malian troops pushed them back the following year.
The court said Ahmad Al Mahdi Al Faqi, known as Abu Tourab, had headed Hesbah, or “Manners’ Brigade,” in 2012, which helped execute the decisions of the Islamic Court of Timbuktu.
He is accused of directing attacks against nine mausoleums and the Sidi Yahia mosque in the city, which by the 14th century had become a major trading hub and center of learning. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“A zealous member of an armed group ... “Ansar Dine,” he played a predominant and active role in the functioning of the local structure put in place during the group’s occupation of Timbuktu in 2012,” said ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
“Intentional attacks against historic monuments and buildings dedicated to religion are serious crimes,” she added. “Such attacks affect humanity as a whole ... We will continue to do our part to highlight the severity of such war crimes.”
Set up in 2002, the court has faced a chorus of calls to get involved in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts, including those, such as the spreading conflagration in Iraq and Syria, over which it has no jurisdiction.
Many observers have suggested the court should look at the destruction by the Daesh (Islamic State) of ancient archaeological sites in Palmyra, but neither country is a member, leaving it powerless to intervene without a mandate from the UN Security Council.
(Reporting by Thomas Escritt)
Mali extremist sent to world court for Timbuktu heritage destruction
Mali extremist sent to world court for Timbuktu heritage destruction
US Justice Department official eyes cases against Cuba leaders as Trump floats ‘friendly takeover’
- “Working group” formed to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government
- Trump’s has increasingly displayed aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership
MIAMI: The top Justice Department prosecutor in Miami is considering criminal investigations of Cuban government officials, according to people familiar with the matter. The inquiry comes as President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover” of the communist-run island.
Jason Reding Quiñones, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida, has created a “working group” that includes federal prosecutors and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies to try to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government and its Communist Party, according to one of the people. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the effort.
It was not immediately clear which Cuban officials the office is targeting or what criminal charges prosecutors may be looking to bring.
The Justice Department said in a statement Friday that “federal prosecutors from across the country work every day to pursue justice, which includes efforts to combat transnational crime.”
The effort is taking place against the backdrop of Trump’s increasingly aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership.
Emboldened by the US capture of Cuba’s close ally, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump last month said his administration was in high-level talks with officials in Havana to pursue “a friendly takeover” of the country. He repeated those claims this week, saying his attention would turn back to Cuba once the war with Iran winds down.
“They want to make a deal so bad,” Trump said of Cuba’s leadership.
While Cuba has faded from Washington’s radar as a major national security threat in recent decades, it remains a priority in the US Attorney’s office in Miami, whose political, economic and cultural life is dominated by Cuban-American exiles.
The FBI field office has a dedicated Cuba group that in 2024 was instrumental in the arrest of former US Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha on charges of serving as a secret agent of Cuba stretching back to the 1970s.
In recent weeks, several Miami Republicans, in addition to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, have called on the Trump administration to reopen its criminal investigation into the 1996 shootdown of four planes operated by anti-communist exiles.
In a letter to Trump on Feb. 13, lawmakers including Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez highlighted decades-old news reports indicating that former President Raúl Castro — the head of Cuba’s military at the time — gave the order to shoot down the unarmed Cessna aircraft.
“We believe unequivocally that Raúl Castro is responsible for this heinous crime,” lawmakers wrote. “It is time for him to be brought to justice.”
While no indictment against Castro has been announced, Florida’s attorney general said this week that he would open a state-level investigation into the crime.
The Trump administration has also accused Cuba of not cooperating with American counterterrorism efforts, adding it alongside North Korea and Iran to a select few nations the US considers state sponsors of terrorism.
The designation stems from Cuba’s harboring of US fugitives and its refusal to extradite several Colombian rebel leaders while they were engaged in peace talks with the South American nation.
