ICC Issues Reparations Order in Cultural Property Destruction Case (August 17, 2017) [1]
On August 17, 2017, Trial Chamber VIII of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a Reparations Order [3] in Prosecutor v. Al Mahdi, which follows the Court’s September 2016 judgment that “unanimously found Mr Al Mahdi guilty beyond reasonable doubt as a co-perpetrator of the war crime consisting in intentionally directing attacks against religious and historic buildings in Timbuktu, Mali, in June and July 2012.” According to the press release [4], the Chamber concluded that “Mr Al Mahdi is liable for 2.7 million euros in expenses for individual and collective reparations for the community of Timbuktu for intentionally directing attacks against religious and historic buildings in that city.” The Chamber noted that the reparations were meant to rehabilitate the damaged sites and to address the community’s economic and emotional harm from the attack. Because Al Mahdi is indigent, the Chamber also “encourages the Trust Funds for Victims (‘TFV’) to complement the reparations award and directed the TFV to submit a draft implementation plan for 16 February 2018.”