Eduard Ngaisson and Alfred Yekat were imprisoned for war crimes in the Central -African Republic

Former head of the Football Federation of the Central African Republic (car), Patrices Ngaisson was recognized as committing 28 war crimes and crimes against humanity by judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

He was charged together with Alfred Yekatom of coordinating the attacks on the country’s Muslim population in 2013-14.

Yekatom, nicknamed Rambo, was found guilty of 20 charges. The judges sentenced his sentence after the trial, which lasted almost four years with the participation of more than 170 witnesses and almost 20,000 evidence.

Ngaisson was sentenced to 12 years and Yekatom 15 years.

The violence has covered the car over the last decade, but the recent peaceful deal led to the abolition of two rebel groups this month.

The car was immersed in a clutter in 2013, when mostly Muslim rebels from the Selek group seized power in most Christian country.

The group is mostly Christian militias, called “anti-balloons”, rose to counters after the then President Francois Bosiz was rejected.

Ngaisson and Yekatom were convicted of numerous crimes, including murder, torture and persecution of the religious group.

Ngaisson was justified by rape, while Yekat was cleared of engaging children as a soldier.

Both men denied all the allegations.

The prosecution stated the alleged command system, saying that Ngaïssona provided funds and instructions for Anti-Balaka groups in 2013 and 2014.

On December 5, 2013, Yekatom was a commander who allegedly introduced militants into the Bangui capital.

The prosecution stated that the couple’s strategy was to make all Muslims their goal, calling them “enemies of the nation.”

Yekatom allowed his fighters to attack Muslim civilians, including the throat crack, cut off his ears and bury living people, the prosecutor’s office said.

Asking to enter the request at the beginning of the trial, both men dismissed all the allegations.

At the time, reports of the media show that in December 2013, at least 1000 people were killed in Bangui’s contractions, and half the city’s population fled only this month.

He was a self-proclaimed political coordinator of the anti-balloon forces.

Ngaïssona was forbidden to run for the president of the car in 2015 because of the alleged role in the atrocities.

He former head of the Football Federation and briefly held the post of Minister of Sport before he was elected to the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in February 2018.

His appointment was criticized by several human rights groups.

“If the accusations were true, I wouldn’t be here today,” he said at the time AFP Agency. “(I don’t) mix politics and sports – all I did was in favor of my country.”

The French authorities arrested him in December 2018 and was transferred to the ICC in January 2019.

Yekatom was elected a deputy in 2016, despite being subjected to UN sanctions.

He was arrested in October 2018 after he fired a gun in the parliament, after which he escaped, after a series of deputy.

His extradition to the ICC was the first of the car.

The International Federation of Human Rights (known for his French abbreviation FIDH) said it signal that the authorities were trying to fight impunity there.