Former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré was sentenced on Monday in Dakar, Senegal, to life imprisonment, convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture during his reign from 1982 to 1990.
The prosecutor at the Extraordinary African Chambers, Senegalese Mbacke Fall, demanded life imprisonment for the former dictator while defence lawyers asked the “outright acquittal” of their client. The trial began on July 20, 2015 and the verdict was pronounced after three months of deliberation.
Habré refused to recognize the authority of the court, which is backed by the African Union and was significant in that it is the first time such a court has tried a former African leader for human rights abuses.
Habré was ousted from power in 1990 by the current Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, and he has lived in exile in Senegal since then.
The former Chadian president was arrested following complaints filed against him by Chadian organizations defending human rights and associations of victims of his regime. He was indicted in July 2013 and remanded in custody for war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture.
The court, presided over by a Burkinabe judge, Gberdao Gustave Kam, also found him guilty of rape, sexual slavery and ordering killings.
The trial was marked, among others, by the boycott of defense lawyers and the silence of Habré throughout his trial.
For “a fair trial”, the court appointed Senegalese lawyers to defend the accused.
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