{"id":166867,"date":"2026-10-09T10:56:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/?p=166867"},"modified":"2026-10-09T10:56:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:56:20","slug":"icc-what-does-said-judgment-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/166867-icc-what-does-said-judgment-mean.html","title":{"rendered":"ICC: what does Said\u2019s judgment mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Late September, judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC)<\/a> decided that Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, a senior figure of the Seleka movement in the Central African Republic, was guilty of crimes against humanity. But they also redefined the boundaries of the armed conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, called Said, was a senior Seleka figure. A commander well known in Bangui and in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2012 and 2013, when this coalition of armed groups was fighting against the then President Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9. Since he was arrested in 2021, in relation to his alleged role at the special police unit headquarters, the OCRB \u2013 the Central Office for the Repression of Banditry \u2013 in Bangui, his trial<\/a> and his judgment became a cornerstone in the Hague court proceedings concerning the CAR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when on September 23rd<\/sup><\/a>, the presiding judge Miatta Maria Samba read a summary of the 662-page judgment<\/a> in open court, half of the charges against Said were dismissed: the war crimes of torture, cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judgment \u201cunanimously considers that there was a non-international armed conflict in CAR between the Seleka and the Central African armed forces supported by the South African armed forces from at least late December 2012 until 24 March 2013\u201d. The judges therefore consider that conflict between armed groups did not continue \u201cfollowing the Seleka takeover of Bangui on 24 March 2013\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A non-international armed conflict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, for the judges, there was no international armed conflict. Why does that matter? It\u2019s \u201cpretty obvious and fundamental\u201d, says Annyssa Bellal expert in international law and the Executive Director of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, because \u201cinternational humanitarian law, or the law of armed conflict, can only apply when there is an armed conflict\u201d, and on that basis, war crimes charges are either in or out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arnaud Yaliki, <\/a>a lecturer in public law at the University of Bangui, agrees: \u201clegal characterization is an extremely important step.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite easy when we are facing an international armed conflict,\u201d Bellal says. \u201cBecause here the threshold that has been determined by scholarship, by the case law, and in customary international law is very low; some kind of tension, or the use of armed force between two states, and then we have an armed conflict.\u201d \u201cFor non-international armed conflict, it\u2019s a bit more complicated,\u201d she adds, \u201cbecause the difference between a non-international armed conflict and a civil violent unrest, the use of political violence within a country, the limit here is tenuous\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disorganization and chaos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bangui has not only national trials covering international crimes covering the last 20 years of violence, but also the UN-backed Special Criminal Court<\/a> dealing with bringing to justice different political and armed groups\u2019 leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stefan Waespi, former international investigating judge at that hybrid court says any suggestion that there was - even temporarily - not an non-international armed conflict, and therefore no jurisdiction, caused shock and disbelief when the argument was first mooted during opening statements in Said\u2019s trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellal testified as an expert witness at the trial about the lack of organisation of the armed groups. \u201cThere was quite a high threshold of violence, but what did not exist and a lot of other organizations and scholars came to the same conclusion, is the lack of organization of the armed groups involved,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are the true criteria if you want to determine whether there is a non-international armed conflict; the level of violence; the violence needs to be protracted over a certain period of time, must be really heavy confrontations between the parties or civilians being really targeted; and you need to have the organization of a group, because you need to have a party to the armed conflict. And here, this is what was missing. At that moment, there was a lot of disorganization, chaos in terms of what was happening in the Central African Republic,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She believes the judges \u201cdid well\u201d because if they hadn\u2019t provided a clear analysis, \u201cit could perhaps have undermined the legitimacy of war crime prosecutions\u201d by muddying the waters. Importantly though, the judges \u201cemphasise that the period following 24 March 2013 was anything but peaceful for the civilians in CAR\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Widespread and systematic attack against civilians<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The case against Said concerned \u201c18 charged incidents allegedly committed at the OCRB\u201d. He was accused of the crimes against humanity of imprisonment, torture, other inhumane acts and persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judges unanimously found \u201cthat the Seleka carried out a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Bangui from at least April 2013 until at least November 2013\u201d. These included indiscriminate shootings, \u201crape, mistreatment and other forms of violence\u201d, and extensive looting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court said that the \u201cSeleka targeted the part of the population they perceived to support Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9. The targeted population was identified by religion (Christian), ethnicity (particularly people belonging to the Gbaya, Mandja and Banda ethnic groups), gender (predominantly male), and association with Boziz\u00e9\u2019s regime (including family members and personal associates of Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9, former State officials and members or former members of the security and defence forces)\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInternational humanitarian law (war crimes) applies when there is an armed conflict\u201d, notes Bellal, \u201cbut what is very important is that human rights law applies at all times - both in peacetime and wartime\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Said\u2019s own role<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Said had been \u201cappointed as head of the OCRB by Noureddine Adam, who was a Seleka leader and the Minister of Public Security, in mid to late April 2013\u201d, said the judges. Yaliki agrees it\u2019s important that the judgment confirms that \"the OCRB level, it is a functioning state institution. Where a person is regularly appointed\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he got to the OCRB he \u201cwas presented as being the \u2018new person responsible\u2019,\u201d said the judges. He was \u201cthe de facto top ranking official at the OCRB and was in charge. [He] had control over the OCRB and when it came to orders and reports, everything went through him. All of the Seleka at the OCRB were under Mr Said\u2019s command and reported to him\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the top man, he \u201cgave orders for the OCRB Seleka to beat detainees. In addition, Mr Said was present when detainees were being beaten and tortured at the OCRB\u201d, they added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judges identified all this activity as part of \u201ca common plan to target perceived Boziz\u00e9 supporters\u201d and said it reflected \u201cthe broader Seleka policy to attack the civilian population perceived to support Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Said\u2019s own role was \u201can essential contribution to this common plan and that, in light of this role and functions, Mr Said acted with the necessary intent and knowledge,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Acts of torture: the arbatachar method<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The judges outlined some of the horrendous conditions at the OCRB, \u201cwhich the Seleka used following their takeover of Bangui until 30 August 2013\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There they \u201croutinely mistreated detainees physically and psychologically\u201d. \u201cDetainees were beaten, whipped and kicked. On one occasion, OCRB Seleka members ordered 16 detainees to remove their clothing upon arrival at the OCRB and threw sand, soil or clay mixed with water on their backs and whipped them multiple times, causing two detainees to soil themselves\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seleka members would \u201ccommonly tie detainees using the arbatachar method\u201d, which involved forcing a person to lie down on their stomach and tying all four of their limbs together in the back with a cord. \u201cThis caused the person excruciating pain, and the Chamber considers that this constitutes an act of torture\u201d, the judges said. \u201cFor example, one man was interrogated while he was held on the ground and severely beaten with ropes, whips and military belts all over his body, following which he was tied using the arbatachar method.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One prisoner \u201cwas slapped and beaten all over with rifle butts by the OCRB Seleka. The following day he was tied using the arbatachar method, then kicked, hung against a wall, and beaten with various instruments\u201d. Another \u201cwas also beaten while being tied using the arbatachar method, and he lost consciousness\u201d. And \u201ctwo other men were tied using the arbatachar method, one of them spending the night tied\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judges also focused on the conditions in cells at the OCRB. One \u201chad no windows, bed, or toilet and its walls were marked by bullet holes and stained with blood. At times, cells in the courtyard were overcrowded to such an extent that the detainees had difficulty breathing and had to take turns to lie down\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An underground cell, \u201cin which multiple detainees were held\u201d, was under the floorboards in Said\u2019s own office in the main building of the OCRB. \u201cThe entrance of the underground cell was approximately 2 metres by 1 metre, and its interior was slightly bigger. Detainees had to urinate and defecate inside the underground cell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Seleka, a first in The Hague<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is the first time\u201d, notes Yaliki, that \u201csuch a judgment was handed down or a senior official was tried\u201d in The Hague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judges said that \u201cthere was an organisational policy on the part of the Seleka to attack the civilian population perceived to support Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9\u201d. The Seleka \u201cwere motivated by a desire to punish or extract what they believed to have been owed from persons perceived as associated with Boziz\u00e9\u2019s regime\u201d: \u201cSenior Seleka leaders were present when crimes were committed and were themselves implicated. In addition, the Seleka leadership failed to take genuine and effective action to prevent or punish the criminality among their ranks, despite the fact that they could have done so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellal points out that \u201cit\u2019s not really a precise science\u201d to assess \u201chow an armed group like the Seleka functioned,\u201d against the backdrop of a \u201cstate that was not very existent\u201d and \u201cchaotic\u201d. The judges had to assess \u201cthat this particular guy was really in charge, and he knew exactly what he did. And in order for human rights law to apply, you need to also have some kind of a structure\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waespi notes that an ICC judgment on power structures \u201cwill be read and cited, especially by defence lawyers,\u201d at the SCC in Bangui, but \u201cit\u2019s not binding\u201d, and \u201cwill have no immediate effect on cases at the court\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Yaliki though, judging a Seleka leader to trial in The Hague in itself has an important meaning: \u201cIn intellectual circles, among victims\u2019 associations, this is the first time that, at the level of international criminal justice, justice has been served to victims in all its rigor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for him, this is not the only benefit of this judgment:\u00a0 \u201cThe icing on the cake was that the ICC has often been accused of issuing inconsistent sentences, of only convicting one side, meaning that it focuses much more on the big fish of the anti-balaka and not on the Seleka. And the fact that Mr Said has been convicted, I think that lends some credibility to the International Criminal Court.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t
Recommended reading<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
\"Defence<\/div><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\tThe incredible disappearing defence of Said\r\n\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Late September, judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided that Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, a senior figure of the Seleka movement in the Central African Republic, was guilty of crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":166861,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[562],"tags":[2653,2772,2640],"ji_location":[2165],"class_list":["post-166867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-icc","tag-crime-against-humanity","tag-judgment","tag-torture-en","ji_location-central-african-republic"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nICC: what does Said\u2019s judgment mean?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Late September, judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided that Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, a senior figure of the Seleka movement in the Central African Republic, 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humanity.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/166867-icc-what-does-said-judgment-mean.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/166867-icc-what-does-said-judgment-mean.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/166867-icc-what-does-said-judgment-mean.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Central-African-Republic_Said-23-09-2026_@ICC-CPI-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Central-African-Republic_Said-23-09-2026_@ICC-CPI-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"On 23 September, the former Central African Seleka rebel Mahamat Said Abdel Kani was found guilty by the ICC of crimes against humanity, but not of war crimes. 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