Alleged Darfur militia leader appears before ICC judge

An alleged Sudanese militia leader charged with more than 50 crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Darfur conflict appeared Monday before a judge at the International Criminal Court for the first time since his transfer to the court last week and said the charges against him were “untrue.” Coronavirus restrictions meant that the suspect, Ali Mohammed Ali Abdul Rahman Ali, known as Ali Kushayb, appeared via a video link from the court's detention center near The Hague's North Sea coastline. When the judge, Rosario Salvatore Aitala, asked Kushayb if he had been informed of the charges against him, he replied, speaking through an interpreter: “Yes, I was informed of that, but this is untrue.”