The International Criminal Court has convicted Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, a senior Seleka commander, of four crimes against humanity for his role in the abuse of detainees at the Office Central de Répression du Banditisme in Bangui, Central African Republic. The crimes, committed between April 12 and August 30, 2013, include imprisonment, torture, persecution, and other inhumane acts. Said was found to have acted as a direct co-perpetrator, with the intent and knowledge required for the crimes.
The ICC's Trial Chamber VI delivered a split verdict, acquitting Said of three war crimes counts: torture, cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity. The judges considered the armed conflict in Bangui to have ended by the time some of the alleged conduct occurred, affecting the war crimes counts. The full reasoning behind the acquittals will be explained in the written judgment. Said's trial, which opened in September 2022, ran for 130 hearings before closing in late 2025.
Said is the first senior member of the Seleka coalition to be convicted by the ICC for crimes committed during the 2013-2014 conflict in the Central African Republic. His conviction is a significant milestone in the ICC's decade-long pursuit of accountability for the conflict. The Office of the Prosecutor hailed the conviction as a measure of justice for the victims and their families.
The conviction is part of a broader effort by the ICC to address the sectarian violence that followed the Seleka's 2013 takeover. In July 2025, the ICC convicted two leaders of the rival anti-Balaka militia, Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona, for crimes committed against Muslim civilians during the same conflict. The two judgments give the ICC's Central African Republic docket convictions on both sides of the conflict.
The victims who testified in the trial described the long-lasting impact of the crimes on them, their families, and their lives. Former detainees at the OCRB reported continuing to live with physical and psychological harm from their detention and abuse. The ICC's Presiding Judge acknowledged the suffering and trauma of the victims in delivering the judgment.
The defense and prosecution may appeal the verdict within 30 days. The prosecution's right to appeal is significant, given the acquittals on the three war crimes counts. The ICC will also hold a separate sentencing phase to determine Said's sentence. A reparations process will begin for the victims of the crimes for which Said was convicted.
The conviction tests the ICC's capacity to deliver timely justice for African victims. The Central African Republic situation has now produced convictions against commanders from both the Seleka and the anti-Balaka, undercutting any claim that the Court's CAR docket has targeted one side of the conflict alone. The sentence and reparations process will determine how this verdict is judged against the scale of the harm it addresses.
Key points
- The ICC convicted Mahamat Said Abdel Kani of crimes against humanity for abuses at Bangui's OCRB detention facility.
- Said was acquitted of three war crimes counts: torture, cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity.
- The conviction marks a significant milestone in the ICC's pursuit of accountability for the 2013-2014 conflict in the Central African Republic.
