ICC Convicts Former Central African Republic Commander of Torture
Mahamat Said Abdel Kani found guilty of persecution and torture as crimes against humanity.
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have convicted Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, a former commander in the Central African Republic's Seleka rebel group, of persecution and torture as crimes against humanity. The crimes were committed while Said ran a prison in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.
During a hearing that lasted about an hour, presiding Judge Miatta Maria Samba detailed the conditions endured by detainees at the prison. Witnesses described cramped cells with walls marked by “bullet holes and blood,” and recounted being whipped severely. Other testimonies indicated that prisoners were confined in a windowless room located beneath the floorboards of Said’s office.
Said, 56, remained largely expressionless throughout the proceedings as the judge laid out the evidence and findings.