Judges said the reparations would mainly take the form of collective rehabilitation measures, including educational programs, vocational training and psychological support, with particular focus on women and girls who suffered persecution under the religious police overseen by Al Hassan.

Al Hassan was convicted in June 2024 on eight counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for helping run the morality police established by the Ansar Dine Islamist group after militants seized Timbuktu, a historic desert city in northern Mali.

The court said women and girls were among the worst affected because their daily lives were tightly controlled under the group’s strict interpretation of sharia law. They were required to wear specific clothing and could leave their homes only under strict conditions, leading many to fear going outdoors.

Judges found that Al Hassan took part in or was present during public floggings and other punishments carried out by the religious police, which caused severe trauma to both victims and witnesses.Because Al Hassan is unable to personally pay the reparations, judges asked the ICC’s Trust Fund for Victims to help finance the compensation measures.

The fund has until January next year to submit an implementation plan for judicial approval.Reparations are a formal part of ICC proceedings following convictions, and the court currently has five other active reparation orders being administered through the Trust Fund for Victims.

Al Hassan was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Having already spent around six years in custody before his conviction, he is expected to be released soon.The ICC, the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal, has been investigating crimes committed in Mali since 2012, when Islamist armed groups linked to Ansar Dine took control of northern cities including Timbuktu.

French and Malian forces later recaptured the city in 2013.