ICC Convicts Two Militia Leaders for Persecuting Muslims in Central African Republic

ICC Convicts Two Militia Leaders for Persecuting Muslims in Central African Republic
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Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday convicted two men for leading Christian-dominated militias in violent attacks against Muslims in the Central African Republic during 2013 and 2014, Reuters reported. They were sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 years.

Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona, a former football executive, and militia commander Alfred Yekatom were found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, forcible transfer, and persecution of Muslim civilians.

Both defendants had pleaded not guilty at the start of their trial in 2021.

The court determined that Ngaissona was a long-standing leader of the predominantly Christian “anti-Balaka” militia and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. Yekatom, known as “Rambo,” commanded approximately 3,000 militia members and was found to have praised atrocities committed by his forces; he received a 15-year sentence.

The anti-Balaka militias emerged in 2013 as a response to months of looting and killings by mostly Muslim Seleka rebels who seized power earlier that year. The ICC has been investigating the conflict in the Central African Republic since May 2014, and a trial of a Seleka leader is currently ongoing.