By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
He was found guilty by a special tribunal set up in Senegal. Habre can serve his sentence in Senegal or any other African country.
Throughout the course of the trial, he was non cooperative with the court. The former Chadian head of state was represented by a team of lawyers provided to him by the court after he dismissed his own lawyers earlier on in the trial.
There has been a wave o f positive reactions over this landmark ruling.
Human Right Watch activist, Reed Brody, said “Habre’s conviction for these horrific crimes after 25 years is a huge victory for his Chadian victims, without whose tenacity this trial never would have happened.”
Brody is an activist who had spent close to two decades working with victims from Chad. He is also popularly known for prosecuting another former dictator, Chile’s Augusto Pinoche.
Anti torture group ‘Redress’ hailed the verdict as landmark “for its powerful recognition of Habres role in relation to sexual violence and slavery committed against women who were detained under his rule,” the organization said in a statement.
Habre was the President of Chad from 1982 to 1990. After a long wait, his trial started in July last year. Over the course of the trial, some grim details and harrowing experiences of victims have been exposed.
Habre, 73, was accused of presiding over a secret police known as the Department of Documentation and Security (DDS). According to witness accounts, DDS ordered the torture and the systematic killing of thousands of citizens. It is estimated that over 40, 000 people were killed during Habre’s eight year rule. His lawyers stressed that Habre was unaware of the actions of the DDS and therefore could not have given orders for their killings.
Since he has been found guilty, a special trial will be devoted to people who will claim reparation for their loss during his eight year long rule.
This trial and has been both historical and at times theatrical. For the latter, the former president had to be dragged in to the court by security personnel on the first day of the trial, after refusing to enter in the court room by himself. Throughout the trial, he constantly defied the court by his deafening silence and his blatant disrespect for the court.
Historically, Habre becomes the first former African president to stand trial in another African country. He was tried in a special court set up in Senegal by the African Union, Extraordinary African Chambers, known by its French acronym CAE. The tribunal is the first of its kind and it had a universal jurisdiction privilege. With such a successful trial, African leaders could have a remedy to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
For a very long time African leaders have been very vocal with their condemnation against ICC. The condemnation was recently sparked again when Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his vice President William Ruto were prosecuted by the Netherland-based court for allegations of war crimes in relation to Kenya’s 2008 election violence. There was even a call for African countries to rescind their membership from the court.
Observers say this Habre trial sends a message across the world that Africa is capable enough to deal with its leaders who need to be disciplined.
If AU decides to maintain such a court for future trials, it will be good move in seeing Africa fix its own problem. However, there will be concerns, like which country has the moral authority to host such courts and to lead such trials. Senegal for now could be one, but no one knows for the future.
Two decades ago, Habre was one of the most powerful men on the continent. Today, he has been prosecuted, found guilty and about to be thrown in to jail for the rest of his life. For many this is a signal of an end to the days when leaders will brutalize and kill their people, pillage their wealth and go abroad to enjoy happily ever after.
The lessons to be learnt in Habre’s case are so clear.
Did you know that?
- Habre is the first former president of any country to be convicted for crimes against humanity by the courts of another country. This was done using the universal jurisdiction rule.
- This is the first time a former head of state has been convicted for personally raping someone.
- An estimated 40, 000 people were killed by the army and Habre’s secret police during his eight year reign. This means that at least 3 people were killed every day from 1982 to 1990 when he was President.
Migration crisis: hundreds more drown in the Mediterranean
As mass migration towards Europe continues, hundreds more have drowned over the last week in Italian waters. Whiles UN refugee agency say up to 700 people may have drowned, Medicine San say the number could be as high as 900.
It is believed that hundreds more are still missing and rescuers are waiting for their bodies to float in the water in the coming days. Sights of bodies retrieved so far are grueling, with women and children among the dead.
“This was a very intense and exceptional week for the number of fatalities,” said Federico Fossi, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“This week was a massacre,” added Giovanna Di Benedetto, a spokeswoman in Sicily with Save the Children, the nonprofit humanitarian group.
As search for bodies continue, Fossi warned that the death toll could grow and most of them could be women and children.
Most of the migrants are believed to have come from Sub Sahara, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) says most of them are unaccompanied adolescents. Most of the migrants are from countries like Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and The Gambia in West Africa, and Eritrea in the East.
According to the UNHCR, up to 15, 000 migrants had left North Africa via Libya to cross through to Italy. The surge in the number is as a result of the favorable weather which has encouraged thousands to embark on the dangerous journey through the Mediterranean.
Sea smugglers believe that Spring is the perfect weather to travel through the Mediterranean Sea because by then the water would be calmer. This has encouraged thousands to venture the dangerous crossing to Europe. But on the path of smugglers, there is always a renewed will to overload their boats with humans and cargoes, no matter the season.
Since the start of the year the migration crisis in Europe had worsened. This has deepened political divides across Europe. It has also brought out the good, the bad and the worse out of Europeans.
Italy has been particularly strained by the massive influx of migrants through their waters, especially when the routes to Greece have almost been shut down. UNHCR figures suggest that an estimated 41,000 migrants have arrived in Italy this year by sea.
For some migrants, Italy is just an entry point for them to Europe and not their final destination, for others Italy could be their new home. Italy in its position is caught in the middle of turning away people to their misery or accommodating them at a huge social and financial cost to Italians.
Africa has been ridden by poverty. Every year millions of young people set out to travel to Europe for greener pastures. They travel through different routes, some comfortable, others dangerous.
The danger has been seen in the number of people that have drowned so far this year. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 1000 people have drowned in the Mediterranean so far in attempting to cross to Europe. This figure does not include the tally UNHCR and MSF gives for last week’s series of drowning.
Last year up to 3,700 people drowned in the Mediterranean whiles attempting to reach Europe. Half way in to this year and more than half of these number of people has already died. If migration continues on this scale, this year is set to produce the highest death toll in the ongoing migration crisis.
Did you know that?
- According to the UN Migration agency, more than 1000 people have drowned in the Mediterranean whiles attempting to cross to Europe.
- Last year a total of 3,700 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean whiles trying to reach to Europe.
- These latest deaths could take the total deaths for the year very close to 2000.
- A total of 41,000 people have arrived this year in Italy through sea.
- 15,000 people have left North Africa this week to travel to Europe via the Mediterranean.
(C) Politico 31/05/16
