Lawyer: Alleged Mali extremist was only following orders

Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, a Malian rebel accused of policing a brutal Islamic regime in the Malian city of Timbukti after rebels overran the historic desert city in 2012 (Piroschka van de Wouw/AP)

A lawyer for an alleged extremist accused of involvement in crimes including rape and torture in the northern Malian city of Timbuktu a decade ago said he was just a police officer carrying out court orders who could have been killed for disobeying.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have argued that the defendant, Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, was a “key figure” in a reign of terror after al-Qaida-linked rebels overran the Malian desert city in 2012.