ICC Orders Mali Extremist to Pay $3.2 Million in Reparations

The International Criminal Court ruled on Thursday that an Islamist militant currently in prison for destroying World Heritage cultural sites in Timbuktu must also pay $3.2 million in reparation, the Associated Press reported. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi pleaded guilty at previous hearings to leading attacks against nine mausoleums and a mosque door in 2012. The court ordered him to pay for the damage, economic losses, and moral harm to the people of Timbuktu, who depend on the sites for tourism. Al-Mahdi expressed remorse for causing the destruction and said the reparations are “reasonable.”