Monday 30 May 2016

Hissene Habre: Chad's ex-ruler convicted of crimes against humanity

Habre in chains at his trial with face covered

Source: BBC

Chad's ex-ruler Hissene Habre has been convicted of crimes against humanity at a landmark trial in Senegal.
The judge convicted him of rape, sexual slavery and ordering killings. He is still reading out the verdict.
It is the first time an African Union-backed court has tried a former ruler for human rights abuses.
The prosecutor at the court in Senegal's capital Dakar has requested a life sentence for Habre, who refuses to recognise its legitimacy.
The ex-president denied accusations that he ordered the killing of 40,000 people during his rule from 1982 to 1990.


Mr Habre frequently disrupted proceedings during his trial. He shouted abuse, called the process "a farce", and had to be carried into the court after refusing to appear.
His critics dubbed him "Africa's Pinochet" because of the atrocities allegedly committed during his rule.
Habre was arrested in Senegal, where he was exiled, in 2013.
Many of his alleged victims campaigned for him to be tried, following his overthrow in 1990.
In 2005, a court in Belgium issued a warrant for his arrest, claiming universal jurisdiction but, after Senegal referred the issue to the African Union, the AU asked Senegal to try Mr Habre "on behalf of Africa".
In 2013, a court in Chad sentenced him to death in absentia for crimes against humanity.

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