I.C.C. to begin trial over Timbuktu shrine damage

For the first time, the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) is trying a suspected Islamic militant for destroying cultural heritage in the ancient city of Timbuktu, Mali. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, a former junior civil servant in Mali’s department of education, is accused of destroying nine shrines and a mosque in the city in 2012.

Timbuktu, a renowned center for Islamic learning between the 13^th and 17^th centuries, was declared a world heritage site by U.N.E.S.C.O. in 1988, writes the BBC. In 2012, Tuareg rebels backed by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (A.Q.I.M.) attacked the city and imposed strict Islamic law. Mahdi allegedly carried out their orders to attack the shrines of Sufi saints and burned priceless manuscripts from Timbuktu’s archive.

Mahdi, who was handed over by Niger’s government after The Hague-based court issued a warrant against him, is expected to plead guilty, reports The Guardian.

Irina Bokova, the director general of U.N.E.S.C.O. described the attack as “a mark of genocidal project,” which aimed to tear through the social, cultural and historic fabric of communities in Timbuktu. Bokova said that the trial will serve as a deterrent for radical Islamists, who have been targeting many statues, mosques, churches and tombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.