BEVERLY HILLS, May 30, (THEWILL) – In what is seen as a landmark judgement, a special court in Dakar Senegal, on Monday sentenced former Chadian dictator, Hissene Habre, to life imprisonment for human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings, torture and sexual slavery.
The crimes for which Habre was convicted and sentenced by the Extraordinary African Chambers, CAE, was committed between 1982 and 1990 when he was the maximum ruler of the Central African country. Apart from the widespread right abuses committed by his junta, he was personally convicted for committing rape.
Handing down the judgment, Burkinabe president of the CAE court, Gberdao Gustave Kam said: “Hissene Habre, this court finds you guilty of crimes against humanity, rape, forced slavery, and kidnapping,” as well as war crimes.
“The court condemns you to life in prison,” Kam added, giving Habre 15 days to appeal against the sentence.
The verdict caps a 16-year battle by victims and rights campaigners to bring the former leader to justice in Senegal, where he fled after being toppled in a 1990 coup in the central African nation.
Reacting to the ruling, Amnesty International West Africa researcher, Gaetan Mootoo said; “This verdict is a victory for those victims who fought tirelessly to ensure Hissène Habré could not get away with crimes under international law.
“It demonstrates that when there is enough political will, states can work together effectively to end impunity in even the most entrenched situations.
“It is moments like these that other victims around the world can draw on in darker times when justice appears beyond reach. It will nourish them with hope and give them strength to fight for what is right.
“This landmark decision should also provide impetus to the African Union or individual African states to replicate such efforts to deliver justice to victims in other countries in the continent.”
