Chad ex-dictator rejects trial; Judge commands attendance

Mr Habre will be judged by the Extraordinary African Chambers, set up by Senegal and the African Union in February 2013 to prosecute the “person or persons” most responsible for worldwide crimes committed in Chad during Habre’s rule.

Rights groups say 40,000 Chadians were killed under a regime propped up by crackdowns on opponents and the targeting of rival ethnic groups Habre perceived as a threat to his grip on the Sahel nation. Tribunal head Gberdao Gustave Kam read the statement, adjourned proceedings until Tuesday and said Habre would be made to attend.

The former president, for his part, has condemned the trial as politically motivated.

“They talk of worldwide justice in Africa?” said Cledor Ly.

Under a new president, Senegal’s national assembly adopted a law to create the special tribunal.

Brody described the trial as a “test case for African justice”, adding it was the first time that the concept of “universal jurisdiction” – that a suspect can be prosecuted for their past crimes wherever in the world they find themselves – had been implemented in Africa.

It is the first time that a former leader of an African country has been put on trial in another.

‘This is a first in Africa, and we must extend congratulations for this, ‘ said Mbaye Gueye, a neutral legal representative who addressed the court and called for a fair trial.

A successful trial, conducted to high standards and leading to a credible verdict, would strengthen African countries’ argument that they should try their own, amid criticism of the global Criminal Court (ICC) for indicting only Africans. “The Hissene Habre trial shows that it is possible for victims, with perseverance and resolve, to bring a dictator to court”.

“We want to show the Chadian people, and why not all Africans, that no, you cannot govern in terror and criminality”, said Souleymane Guengueng, 66, a former accountant who spent more than two years in Habre’s prisons.

Chief prosecutor Mbacke Fall says his team have heard from nearly 2,500 victims and 60 witnesses since the opening of the investigation against Habre in July 2013.

Moudeina said the case for the prosecution – particularly documents demonstrating a direct link between Habre the country’s secret police, the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS) – was “solid”.

Survivors of the abuse have been the main advocates for justice, working toward this trial for about 15 years.

Around 100 witnesses will testify during hearings expected to last around three months, although 4,000 people have been registered as victims in the case.

“I hope for the condemnation of Habre because he now can not escape”, he said prior to the trial.