Former Chad dictator's trial in Senegal adjourned until September
Special international court appoints lawyers to prepare a defence after Hissène Habré refuses legal representation against charges of war crimes and torture
The trial in Senegal of Chad’s former dictator Hissène Habré has been adjourned until September so that court-appointed lawyers can prepare his defence against charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture.
The Extraordinary African Chambers, a special international criminal tribunal set up in Senegal by the African Union, is trying the former leader of Chad, in an unprecedented case of one African country holding the ruler of another responsible for crimes.
The presiding judge of the court, Gberdao Gustave Kam of Burkina Faso, said on Tuesday that there were no lawyers present for Habré, so the court appointed three Senegalese lawyers.
He adjourned proceedings until 7 September so they can draw up a defence, and noted they would have a duty to defend him even against his will.
The trial opened on Monday, a quarter of a century after Habré’s reign came to an end.
Habré had refused legal representation, saying he did not recognise the court’s jurisdiction, and vowed not to cooperate with the trial.
Following the adjournment, Habré rose and gave a clenched-fist salute and V for victory sign to his supporters, who shouted “Allahu Akbar”.
Habré – who was backed during his presidency by France and the US as a bulwark against Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi – is on trial over actions under his regime from 1982 until he was ousted in 1990.
Human rights groups say 40,000 Chadians were killed under the regime.
The former president, 72, has been in custody in Dakar since his arrest in June 2013 at the home he shared in an affluent suburb of the Senegalese capital with his wife and children.
(July 21, 2015 - www.theguardian.com)