Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona obtained jail sentences of 15 and 12 years for his or her roles in brutal assaults towards civilians – primarily from the nation’s primarily Muslim Seleka inhabitants – in the course of the 2013-14 civil battle.
They have been discovered responsible “past any cheap doubt” of main and facilitating assaults on civilians within the capital, Bangui, and the nation’s west.
Hundreds of individuals have been killed within the violence that swept CAR following a 2012 coup led by the primarily Muslim insurgent coalition, Séléka. The combating took on a deeply sectarian tenor as Anti-Balaka militia began a brutal marketing campaign of reprisal assaults.
Lengthy checklist of crimes
The ICC’s Trial Chamber V discovered Mr. Yekatom answerable for plenty of crimes he dedicated within the context of the assault on Bangui (the capital of CAR), the occasions at Yamwara (a faculty the place he had established a base), and in the course of the advance of his group on the PK9-Mbaïki axis.
These included homicide, torture, forcible switch and deportation, directing an assault towards a constructing devoted to faith and persecution.
Mr. Ngaïssona was convicted for aiding and abetting lots of the similar crimes, together with persecution, forcible displacement and merciless therapy.
Each males have been additionally discovered to have focused Muslims primarily based on the Anti-Balaka’s notion of collective guilt for Seleka abuses.
The judges sentenced Mr. Yekatom to fifteen years and Mr. Ngaïssona to 12 years, with time already served to be deducted.
Fees of battle crimes of pillaging and directing an assault towards a non secular constructing in the course of the assault on Bossangoa weren’t upheld towards Mr. Ngaïssona, and people of conscription, enlistment and use of youngsters weren’t upheld towards Mr. Yekatom.
‘Instrumentalization of faith’
The Chamber famous that whereas faith was instrumentalised by armed teams in the course of the battle, the violence was not initially non secular in nature.
Many witnesses testified that Muslims and Christians had lived peacefully collectively previous to the battle.
The convictions mark the conclusion of a trial that started in February 2021. Over the course of proceedings, the Prosecution referred to as 114 witnesses, whereas the Protection groups referred to as 56. A complete of 1,965 victims participated within the trial via authorized representatives.
