The Hague: Europe and the Arabs
The closing statements hearings in the case of The Prosecutor v. Al-Hassan bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Mahmoud will take place from 23 to 25 May 2023 in Courtroom Three at the ICC headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. According to a statement issued by the court, of which we have received a copy, statements will be made by the Public Prosecutor's Office (maximum 4 hours), the legal representatives of the victims (maximum 1.5 hours) and the defense (maximum 4 hours). These statements may be followed by questions from the room. After the closing statements, the judges will begin their deliberations and the verdict will be delivered in due course.

Trial Chamber X of the ICC is composed of Judges Antoine Kesia Mbe Mindwa (Presiding Judge), Judge Tomoko Akane and Judge Kimberly Prost.
Al Hassan is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Timbuktu (Mali).

The trial in this case began on July 14-15, 2020, including the prosecutor's opening statement and resumed on September 8, 2020, when the prosecution began presenting its evidence. The prosecution called 52 oral witnesses at this stage. On February 8, 2022, the victims' legal representatives made their opening statements before the judges.
From February 8 to 10, 2022, legal representatives called two witnesses to testify. On May 9, 2022, Mr. Al Hassan's defense made its opening statement. The first defense witness began testifying on May 10, 2022. Twenty-two defense witnesses appeared in court, and their last testimony was completed on November 3, 2022. On February 6, 2023, the defense notified the judges of closing its presentation of evidence. On 8 February 2023, the Trial Chamber declared the submission of evidence in this case closed, and the parties and participants were asked to submit their final submissions.