Ali Kushayb: 20 Years of Impunity, 20 Years of Sentence .. And Justice as a Test for Sudan’s Milita

08:32 PM December, 10 2025

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محمد عبدالله ابراهيم-الخرطوم-السودان
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Ali Kushayb: 20 Years of Impunity, 20 Years of Sentence .. And Justice as a Test for Sudan’s Military Leaders



The ruling issued by the International Criminal Court on Tuesday, 9 December 2025, sentencing Ali Mohammed Ali Abdelrahman (Ali Kushayb), one of the most prominent leaders of the Janjaweed militia, to twenty years in prison, represents a defining moment in which justice triumphs over Sudan’s layered geology of oppression. This ruling is not merely a judicial decision-it is an extension of a long trajectory that began with the establishment of the ICC in 2002, a global project born from the ashes of genocide and wars, carrying a sincere promise that major crimes committed in the name of power and authority will not remain without accountability, no matter how long it takes or how geopolitics shift.

Darfur was among the first files brought before the Court in 2005 by a Security Council referral. The issuance of this ruling twenty years after the eruption of the atrocities reminds everyone that time, no matter how long, cannot erase the truth nor silence the victims. Despite its slowness and complications, the Court has proven that its capacity to accumulate evidence and shape historical justice remains steadfast. The verdict against Kushayb constitutes a pivotal milestone that redefines the meaning of justice, the meaning of the state, and the meaning of Sudan rising from beneath the ruins of war toward a different future.

Yet the deeper impact of this ruling is not confined to the past-it concerns the future as well. It has placed the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces before an unavoidable test: either align with the logic of history that moves relentlessly toward accountability, or remain captive to a heavy legacy shaped by a culture of impunity. This choice determines not only the fate of the military institution but also the contours of the Sudan desired by its people. Will it be a state where human dignity is respected, the law upheld, and the cycle of recurring violence-producing nothing but devastation-finally ended؟ Or will it become yet another arena of horrors and violations؟

Sudan’s current tragedy is not a sudden occurrence; it is the culmination of a culture of impunity entrenched for decades under successive ruling regimes. This culture went far beyond mere absence of accountability. It evolved into a deeply rooted disregard for human life, fueling the continuity of crimes and atrocities that escalated in brutality over time, with no regard for national or international justice institutions. It is a culture that defies human conscience and systematically reproduces destruction, making the protection of human rights a distant dream unless this cycle of impunity is broken.

The world bitterly recalls the statements of the ousted Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, following the issuance of the arrest warrant against him and other leaders of his National Congress Party in March 2009 by the ICC. In defiance of international and human justice, al-Bashir repeatedly insulted the international community-particularly former ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo-before crowds of his supporters, mocking the Court’s decision by saying: “Ocampo is under this shoe of mine. Even the hide of a stray cat they didn’t hand over to the ICC.” His statement was not merely political rhetoric; it was an explicit insult to justice, to the UN Security Council, to the United Nations, to the International Criminal Court including Prosecutor Ocampo, to the entire international community, and to the families of victims in Darfur.

This declaration revealed the faces of oppression and corruption embedded in Sudan’s political culture, and the great tragedy that unfolds when weapons are placed above the law, when force replaces right, and when accountability becomes hostage to impunity. The silence of the international community in the face of such contempt was not merely an absence of action; it was an open license for al-Bashir and the leaders of his National Congress Party to continue committing crimes and violations against the Sudanese people. It underscores clearly that those who possess weapons in Sudan possess the power to challenge justice and reproduce atrocities. Sudan’s long tragedy thus exposes the fragility of legal institutions before perpetrators of horrors, and reopens the central question: Will justice remain neglected while impunity endures, or will justice prevail despite all attempts to suppress it؟

The ruling against Kushayb marks a turning point that cannot be dismissed or postponed. If Kushayb-who served as an executive arm implementing the policies and directives of the defunct National Congress regime-has received his due punishment, then it is even more imperative that the architects of those crimes meet their inevitable fate. Arrest warrants have been issued against Ahmed Haroun (2 May 2007), Omar al-Bashir (4 March 2009), Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein (1 March 2012), and others. These dates stand as testimony to the long years of impunity. We therefore call upon the Sudanese Armed Forces to fully comply and immediately, unconditionally surrender all wanted leaders of the former National Congress regime to the ICC-an essential step toward ending impunity and restoring the confidence of the Sudanese people and the world in justice.

The military leadership, which has stalled and made excuses regarding the handover of these fugitives since the 2019 revolution under Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, is the same leadership that repeatedly denies the influence of Islamists on the army’s decisions or their obstruction of peace initiatives. This contradiction is not simply inconsistency-it exposes a false mask and conceals the truth from the public. If the army leadership is truly sincere in denying Islamist control over the military institution, then the only practical proof is the immediate surrender of the wanted individuals to the ICC, to be tried just as Ali Kushayb was.

Protecting these fugitives is not merely legal procrastination. It is protection of criminality and of the corrupt roots feeding the current catastrophe destroying Sudan today. This war is a direct consequence of failing to hand over the wanted leaders of the former National Congress regime to the ICC. Impunity has been the fertile soil in which the seeds of the current conflict grew. Without genuine accountability, the roots of violence and corruption will continue feeding endless cycles of conflict.

Justice must not stop at past crimes. Each day of the current war witnesses grave violations and horrific abuses, placing on the international community and Sudanese society the responsibility to hold all perpetrators accountable without exception. To achieve comprehensive justice, two parallel paths are essential:

First, expanding the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. We call upon the UN Security Council to include all crimes, atrocities, and human rights violations committed across Sudan since the outbreak of the current war. Justice must be comprehensive-not limited by region or timeframe-to ensure accountability for all those responsible for crimes against humanity and to send a strong message that impunity will not be an option, no matter an offender’s rank or power.

Second, establishing a hybrid (Sudanese-international) court composed of competent and reputable Sudanese judges alongside international judges. This court should address crimes currently falling outside ICC jurisdiction and work in coordination with the ICC to hold accountable all perpetrators of violations and atrocities in Sudan. A hybrid court could form the nucleus for rebuilding Sudan’s judicial and justice institutions, serving as a first step toward establishing a state governed by justice and transparency, paving the way for a genuine and sustainable democratic system where right supersedes force and accountability deters anyone seeking to violate human dignity.

True sovereignty is not measured by the strength of a nation’s weapons but by its ability to achieve justice for its people and protect their dignity. The Kushayb verdict is not merely a punishment for one individual-it is an alarm bell for the remaining leaders of the former regime, and an explicit call for Sudan’s military leadership to choose between continuing to shield a corrupt past, or joining the path of justice and accountability.

Surrendering the wanted fugitives, expanding the scope of justice, and establishing the hybrid court are not procedural formalities; they are foundational steps toward building a state capable of separating right from force, and establishing institutions grounded in justice, integrity, and transparency. Without justice and accountability, the state will remain fragile and vulnerable to collapse under the weight of impunity, and the roots of corruption and violence will continue igniting future conflicts. But if the leadership chooses the path of justice, Sudan can transform from a theater of impunity into a model of sustainable democracy, where law deters crime, right surpasses force, and human dignity becomes a core value and a fundamental pillar of every decision.

Mohammed Abdallah Ibrahim

Human Rights Defender

[email protected]

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