Chad: Time for justice for victims of Hissene Habre's regime
The opening on Monday of the trial against former Chadian President, Hissene Habre, in Senegal will put an end to 25 years of impunity and give hope to the tens of thousands of victims of human rights violations and crimes under international law committed under his watch, Amnesty
International said.
Habre is being tried by the Extraordinary African Chambers in Dakar on charges of crimes against humanity, torture and war crimes committed while he was in power between 1982 and 1990. This is the first time a court in one African state will try the former leader of another African state.
"The trial against Hissene Habre is a major milestone for justice in Chad and in Africa. For many victims, this day will mark the end of a 25-year-long wait," said Gaetan Mootoo, Amnesty International's West Africa researcher, who worked on Chad during Habre's presidency.
"Amnesty International spent years shining a spotlight on the torture, arbitrary arrests, executions and enforced disappearances so prevalent under Habre's regime. This historic trial will also send a message that there is no safe haven for those suspected of criminal responsibility for war
crimes or crimes against humanity. The organization hopes a fair trial that meets international law and standards will ensure that justice is done."
The National Commission of Enquiry estimated that 40,000 people may have died at the hands of Habre's security forces between 1982 and 1990. Arbitrary arrests and torture, extra judicial executions and enforced disappearances were also common.
While Amnesty International welcomes Habre's trial as a significant step against impunity, it notes that five other senior officials in Habre's administration indicted by the Court are yet to be brought to trial.
Chad's current President Idriss Deby has not been indicted by the Extraordinary African Chambers, but served as Chief of Staff of the army under Habre's administration. Research undertaken by Amnesty International suggests that troops under his command may have committed mass killings in
southern Chad in 1984. Deby later fled to Sudan in 1989 and organized a coalition of armed groups that toppled Habre in December 1990.
"The next step for the Chadian authorities is to ensure that no stone is left unturned when it comes to bringing those suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law committed during Habre's time in office to justice," said Gaetan Mootoo.
"The only way for Chad to break with its tragic past is to ensure all those responsible for the massive catalogue of human rights violations and crimes under international law face civilian courts. Anything less will send the message that these crimes are actually allowed."
Amnesty International has campaigned tirelessly to expose human rights violations in Chad since the 1970s. After the fall of Habre's administration, more than 50,000 letters and postcards from Amnesty International members were found at the main security headquarters known as Direction de la
Documentation et de la Securite (DDS).
Amnesty International was also instrumental in the decision by Senegal and the African Union in 22 August 2012, to establish a new internationalized court - the Extraordinary African Chambers - in which the crimes committed during the administration of Hissene Habre would be tried.
Background Information
Even though a national commission of inquiry was put in place in 1990, those suspected of criminal responsibility for human rights violations and crimes under international law committed during the eight years of Hissene Habre's presidency were not investigated. In October 2001, Amnesty
International called on the Chadian and Senegalese authorities to take the necessary steps to end this impunity.
After many legal twists and turns, including a judgment by the International Court of Justice, Senegal and the African Union adopted, on 22 August 2012, an agreement establishing a new court in which the crimes committed during the administration of Hissene Habre would be tried: the
Extraordinary African Chambers.
As early as 1982, Amnesty International sent thousands of appeals to the government and to the Chadian president to demand the release of prisoners against whom no legal proceedings had been undertaken. No reply was given by the government. In 1985, during an Amnesty International mission to
Chad, the government rejected all accusations of extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detention.
In August 1989, Chad complained about the campaigns led by Amnesty International, and other human rights organisations, against the country. Chadian authorities categorically denied allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings, the government did however admit that arrested members of
armed opposition had been subjected to "exceptional treatment", without further detailed explanation.
Amnesty International has been campaigning under several Presidents in Chad, in favour of those who are victims of these violations. The organisation's first campaign was for the release of prisoners of conscience imprisoned in Chad in the early 70s, when Ngarta Tombalbaye was President. In
1975, after General Felix Malloum's military coup, a representative of the organization went for the first time to Chad to meet with members of the government.