Darfur victims divided over Ali Kushayb’s 20-year ICC sentence

Victims of the Darfur conflict have expressed sharply differing views on the 20-year prison sentence handed down to former militia commander Ali Mohamed Ali Abdel Rahman, known as Ali Kushayb, by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on 9 December 2025, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Reactions were highlighted during a special episode of Radio Dabanga’s weekly programme Scales of Justice, which featured testimonies from several women who survived abuses attributed to Kushayb. While all participants welcomed the trial in principle, many agreed that the sentence fell far short of reflecting the scale and brutality of the crimes committed.

‘An important step, but not enough’

Alawiya Mukhtar, General Coordinator of the Darfur Women’s Forum, described the trial as a landmark case in the ICC’s history and an important step towards holding perpetrators accountable, offering hope for reducing impunity in the future.

“We at the Darfur Women’s Forum regard this trial as an important step towards accountability,” she said. “However, from the perspective of victims, it remains far below the magnitude of the major crimes committed during the Darfur war by Ali Kushayb and others — crimes that go beyond the framework of transitional justice.”

Mukhtar added that, despite the verdict falling short of victims’ aspirations, they hope it will be implemented fairly and transparently to preserve confidence in the Court. She also called for the prosecution of all perpetrators to prevent the recurrence of crimes which, she warned, are still being committed today by the same actors, with even greater brutality since 2023.

‘The verdict means nothing to me’

Samia Koko, a Darfuri refugee currently living in eastern Chad, rejected the verdict outright.

“As a victim, I say clearly that the trial of Ali Kushayb means nothing to me,” she said. “How can someone responsible for such vast criminality be sentenced to only twenty years?”

She warned that the ruling could embolden others to commit similar crimes without fear, arguing that the remaining 51 suspects might now be encouraged to surrender in exchange for lenient sentences.

“This is not justice compared to what Ali Kushayb did to us,” she said. “We are still living with the consequences of torture, displacement, killing, rape, looting and intimidation.”

Koko called for capital punishment as true retribution for victims, adding that similar trials would only lead to further disappointment.

‘Relief and partial restoration of dignity’

In Attash displacement camp in Nyala, one survivor said that watching the trial brought a sense of relief and reassurance, helping to partially restore the dignity of victims.

Hawa Ahmed Omar Abdallah, head of the women’s committee at Attash camp, said the trial represented a form of respect for human rights and called for all perpetrators to be pursued and held accountable.

“Because of the actions of Ali Kushayb and his associates, we have been displaced since 2003 until today,” she said. “We were forced from our villages, left behind our land and property, lost loved ones, and suffered the most horrific crimes.”

She also demanded fair compensation and the restoration of land and property, noting that many villages are now occupied by others — a situation she described as deeply unjust.

‘A major achievement, but disproportionate to the crime’

Mawahib El Tahir Adam, an internally displaced woman in Nyala, described the trial as a significant achievement that brought joy and renewed hope to victims, making them feel that justice had finally begun to take its course. However, she stressed that a 20-year prison sentence remains inadequate given the immense suffering inflicted.

Conclusion

The question therefore remains: to what extent do ICC trials deliver genuine justice for victims of mass atrocities? It is a question that continues to demand broader answers, as victims’ suffering persists and their aspiration for full, substantive justice — beyond symbolic accountability — remains unfulfilled.