The Delayed Trial of Hissène Habré

Abstract

President Hissène Habré, an African dictator, ruled Chad from 1982 until 1990, with the support of the United States and France, among other states. He was arrested in Senegal on 15 November 2005. His one-party regime was accused of widespread atrocities, including torture. An international arrest warrant of 2005 issued by an Belgian judge charged him with crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture. Although the President of Senegal agreed in 2006 to prosecute Habré in Senegal, by August 2010 he had not yet been tried by a Senegalese court. The legal case against Habré promoted by human rights organizations was based on the universal jurisdiction principle previously used in the case of the Chilean dictator, Agusto Pinochet. The case is also a test for national justice and the values of accountability of political leaders: will an African dictator in exile be fairly judged by Africans in an African country and court of law?