A former Seleka militia leader has been convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of crimes against humanity for his role in the torture and persecution of suspected supporters of the former Central African Republic president, François Bozizé.
Judges found Mahamat Said Abdel Kani guilty of four counts, including persecution and torture. Prosecutors said he oversaw a detention facility in the capital, Bangui, where prisoners accused of supporting Bozizé were beaten and tortured.
Presiding Judge Miatta Maria Samba said Said and others had carried out the abuse as part of a plan to target perceived Bozizé supporters.
Said, who denied all charges, showed no visible reaction as the verdict was read. His sentence will be decided at a separate hearing.
The Seleka, a predominantly Muslim rebel coalition, seized power in 2013, forcing Bozizé from office during the Central African Republic's long-running civil conflict.
Their takeover was followed by the emergence of the largely Christian anti-Balaka militias, fuelling further violence.
The ICC has investigated crimes committed in the Central African Republic since 2014 and has previously convicted two anti-Balaka commanders. Said is the first former Seleka member to be convicted by the court.
Judges dismissed several war-crimes charges against him, concluding that the armed conflict had ended when those alleged crimes took place.
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