A Malian jihadist who admitted to razing ancient tombs in the fabled city of Timbuktu is "an honest man" who briefly took the wrong path in life, his lawyer pleaded today, as prosecutors urged a jail term of up to 11 years.
"For just over three months he lost his way," Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi's attorney said at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
"He wanted to give advice to apply Sharia (Islamic) law, which was a terrible mistake that led to his guilt," lawyer Jean-Louis Gilissen told judges.
He is "an honest man," Gilissen said.
Mahdi admitted at the start of his trial Monday to ransacking some of the west African city's most historic mausoleums during a two-week wave of destruction in 2012.
He is the first Islamic extremist charged by the ICC and the first charged with crimes arising out of the conflict in Mali.
Sentencing will be handed down on September 27.
The wanton destruction by jihadists, who considered the mausoleums idolatrous, triggered a global outcry.
But Mahdi's lawyers said today he acted out of the belief that what he was doing was right, based on an interpretation of Sharia law.
Mahdi, who is aged about 40, had lived in Timbuktu for 11 years before armed groups arrived.
His defence described him as "a generous man with an extremely sociable character" who worked for reconciliation between Muslim groups, founded an NGO and facilitated dialogue between white and black Tuaregs.
Ansar Dine -- a mainly Tuareg movement that in 2012 took control of Timbuktu some 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) northeast of Bamako, along with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) -- picked out Mahdi to head its "Hisbah" or "Manners" brigade, his lawyers said.
Mahdi "was not a decision-maker, but headed those who carried out orders," the defence said.
ICC prosecutors under a deal made with the defence asked for a sentence of between nine to 11 years.
The sentence should serve as an "effective deterrent" that plundering the world's heritage would not go unpunished, they added.
The sentence should "fully reflect his guilt, serve as an effective deterrent and give justice to the victims," prosecutor Gilles Dutertre urged.
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