• Verdict sends powerful message to despots – HRW
• Opportunity for U.S. to learn from involvement in Chad -Kerry
A special tribunal, the Special African Chamber (CAE) sitting in Senegal yesterday sentenced former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre to life in jail for war crimes and crimes against humanity, an unprecedented conviction seen as a warning to repressive rulers worldwide.
The former leader has two weeks to appeal the sentence. The verdict brings long-awaited closure for relatives of the up to 40,000 people killed and many more kidnapped, raped or tortured during his 1982-1990 term as president of Chad.
Habre was guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, rape, forced sexual slavery and kidnapping, said the president of the court Gberdao Gustave Kam, sentencing him to life in jail. The 73-year-old, nicknamed “Desert Fighter”, had presided over “a system where impunity and terror were the law,” Kam said.
Dressed in white robes with dark sunglasses and a head scarf covering most of his face, Habre was defiant after his conviction and sentence were announced. He raised his arms into the air on hearing the decision and shouting to his supporters as he was led from the courtroom: “Down with Francafrique!”, referring to the term used for France’s continuing influence on its former colonies.
Habre has refused to recognize the CAE trying him in Senegal and was at times had to be forced to appear in court, delaying proceedings. He had declined to address the court throughout the 10-month trial, and refused to recognise its authority.
CAE was set up in 2013 by the African Union under a deal with Senegal, making it the first time in modern history that one country’s domestic courts have prosecuted the former leader of another country on rights charges. Other such cases have been tried by international tribunals.
Habre’s conviction for personally raping a woman was also a first by an international court trying a former world leader, according to Human Rights Watch. The case centered on whether Habre, who was feted at the White House in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan after expelling Libyan forces from Chad, ordered the large-scale assassination and torture of political opponents and ethnic rivals.
A 1992 Chadian Truth Commission accused Habre’s government of up to 40,000 political murders as well as systematic torture, mostly by his intelligence police, the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS).
Many, including some of his victims present in the courtroom, cheered in celebration.
“After years of struggle and many setbacks on the way to justice, this verdict is as historic as it was hard-won,” said United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. “In a world scarred by a constant stream of atrocities, the ramifications of this verdict are global.”
United States Secretary of State John Kerry said the conviction was “an opportunity for the United States to reflect on, and learn from,” its involvement in Chad, referring to U.S. and France’s backing of his regime as a buffer against Libya’s forme strongman Moamer Ghadhafi.
“Habre’s conviction for these horrific crimes after 25 years is a huge victory for his Chadian victims,” said Reed Brody, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, who helped investigate the crimes.
“The verdict sends a powerful message that the days when tyrants could brutalize their people, pillage their treasury and escape abroad to a life of luxury are coming to an end.”
Habre’s lawyers now have two weeks to launch an appeal.
The trial was seen as a boost for African countries who say they should be free to charge their own, at a time of growing criticism of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for indicting only Africans.
“We are proud that this trial took place on African soil. Never this type of terror again,” said Clement Abaifouta, president of the Chadian Victims’ Association (AVCRP), whose aim was to bring Habre to justice.
Victims groups who had travelled to the Senegalese capital, Dakar, to hear the verdict were visibly moved by a judgement that comes a quarter of a century after the abuses they suffered.
In the Chadian capital N’Djamena up to 250 victims and their supporters gathered to watch the trial on television at their group’s headquarters. Women screamed with joy as the verdict was read out, embracing one another and shouting
“We won!”, before taking to the streets and blocking traffic as they spread the news.
“This is a victory for the Chadian people against impunity and injustice, never again,” said Jean Noyama, a local leader of the AVCRHH.
The precedent set by the verdict could be seismic, according to legal experts, especially after years of criticism that the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague, has tried African leaders many say should be judged on the continent.
Reed Brody, a lawyer for Human Rights Watch who has spent the last 15 years working with victims to bring Habre to justice, said the conviction was a warning.
“This verdict sends a powerful message that the days when tyrants could brutalise their people, pillage their treasury and escape abroad to a life of luxury are coming to an end,” Reed said in a statement.
“Today will be carved into history as the day that a band of unrelenting survivors brought their dictator to justice.”
Lawyers for the victims said Friday their next step would be to obtain compensation for their clients in a civil suit.
Habre fled to Senegal after his 1990 ouster by Chad’s current President Idriss Deby.
Major dates since Habre fled Chad
Key dates from former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre’s overthrow to his life sentence for war crimes and crimes against humanity over his brutal 1982-1990 rule, in a landmark trial in Senegal.
December 1990: Habre is overthrown by rebel troops led by Idriss Deby and flees to Senegal. His regime is accused of repressing, torturing or killing opponents.
May 1992: A Chadian commission of inquiry says Habre’s regime killed more than 40,000 people, many of them political opponents and from rival ethnic groups.
January 2000: Seven Chadians file suit against Habre in Dakar for crimes against humanity and acts of torture. A judicial inquiry is opened.
February 2000: Habre is charged with “complicity in acts of torture” by a Senegalese judge.
November 2000: Chadians living in Belgium file charges against Habre in Brussels.
November 2005: Habre is detained after Belgium issues an international arrest warrant against him for crimes against humanity. Senegal’s Appeals Court says it has no jurisdiction to rule on the extradition request and he is freed.
August 2008: Habre and 11 rebel leaders are sentenced to death in absentia in Chad for crimes against humanity.
June 2012: New Senegalese President Macky Sall says Habre will be tried in Senegal and rules out his extradition.
August 2012: Senegal and the African Union sign an accord setting up a special court, the Extraordinary African Chambers, in Dakar.
June 2013: Habre is arrested and charged by the special court with torture, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Judges also order that he be held pending trial.
July 2015: Habre trial opens in Dakar.
February 2015: Trial wraps up with defence lawyers calling for an acquittal and prosecutors seeking a life sentence.
May 30, 2016: Habre gets a life sentence for war crimes, crimes against humanity and a slew of other charges, including rape.
The verdict marks the first time a country has convicted a former leader of another nation for rights abuses.