The Trial of Hissein Habré

Emmanuel Guematcha

doi:10.5771/9781666903928

Summary

In The Trial of Hissein Habré: The International Crimes of a Former Head of State, Emmanuel Guematcha recounts the trial of Hissein Habré, the former head of state of Chad. Accused of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture while ruling Chad between 1982 and 1990, Hissein Habré was tried in Dakar, Senegal, by the Extraordinary African Chambers. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016 and the sentence was confirmed in 2017. . In a narrative style, Guematcha examines the process that led to this achievement in Africa, including the failed attempts to try Hissein Habré in the Senegalese, Chadian, and Belgian courts. Guematcha discusses the mobilization of victims and the involvement of nongovernmental and international organizations. He describes the particularities of the Extraordinary African Chambers, analyzes the establishment of Hissein Habré’s criminal responsibility, and presents the trial through the testimonies of several victims, witnesses, and experts. These testimonies shed light on what it means for individuals to be subjected to international crimes. The author also questions the impact and significance of the trial in Africa and beyond.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2022
ISBN-Print: 978-1-6669-0391-1
ISBN-Online: 978-1-6669-0392-8
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 190
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Acknowledgments No access
3. Disclaimer No access
4. Key Abbreviations No access
1. September 7, 2015, Courtroom No. 4, Palais de justice, Dakar, Senegal No access
2. May 30, 2016, Courtroom No. 4, Palais de justice, Dakar, Senegal No access
3. Notes No access
1. The Starting Point No access
2. 1. The Case before the Senegalese Courts No access
  2. The Case before the Belgian Courts No access
  3. The Case before the United Nations Committee against Torture No access
  4. The African Union and Senegal No access
  5. The Economic Community of West African States’ Court of Justice and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights No access
  6. Senegal under Pressure: Funding, the International Court of Justice, and the Election of Macky Sall No access
3. Notes No access
1. The Progressive Emergence of the Idea of Establishing the EAC No access
2. The Choice of an Ad Hoc Criminal Tribunal with an International Character: The Model of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia No access
3. 1. Composition No access
  2. The Mandate No access
  3. Crimes within the Jurisdiction of the EAC No access
  4. The Main Steps of the EAC Criminal Procedure No access
4. 1. International Elements No access
  2. Domestic Elements No access
5. 1. Created by an Agreement between a Regional Organization and a State No access
  2. No Specific Rules of Procedure and Evidence Adopted No access
  3. The Individual Responsibility “for Serious Violations of Human Rights, International Law and International Custom” No access
  4. The Scope of Their Substantive Jurisdiction and the Particularity of Universal Jurisdiction No access
6. Notes No access
1. The Initiation of Public Action and the Work of Investigating Judges No access
2. Hissein Habré’s Counterattack: Trying to Invalidate the Creation of the EAC No access
3. 1. Chad’s Unsuccessful Attempt to Fully Participate in the Trial No access
  2. Chadian Justice Preferred Because of Fear of the Potential Consequences of the Hissein Habré Trial? No access
4. Completion of the Investigation: Hissein Habré Referred to Trial No access
5. Preparation of the Trial in Court No access
6. Notes No access
1. A False Start No access
2. 1. Judges, Prosecutors, and Lawyers No access
  2. Witnesses, Experts, and Victims No access
  3. Public Hearings and the Judicial Ritual of the EAC No access
  4. The Silent Accused No access
3. Notes No access
1. 1. The North No access
  2. The South No access
2. Internal Repression from a Historical Perspective No access
3. Notes No access
1. Overview of the Mechanisms of Repression No access
2. The Testimony of Bandjim Bandoum, Former DDS Agent No access
3. Notes No access
1. 1. Clément Abaifouta No access
  2. Zakaria Fadoul Kitir No access
  3. Abdourahmane Gueye No access
  4. Ngarba Akhaye No access
  5. Madina Fadoul Kitir No access
  6. Marabi Toudjibedjé No access
2. 1. Souleymane Guengueng No access
  2. Fatimé Hachim Saleh No access
  3. Abakar Adoum No access
  4. Younous Mahadjir No access
  5. Lacoubou Mbaïnassoum No access
  6. Doungous Batil No access
3. Victims of Sexual Violence No access
4. Notes No access
1. Direct Victims No access
2. Indirect Victims No access
3. Notes No access
1. The Prosecution’s Case: Beyond the Testimony, Overwhelming Evidence against Hissein Habré No access
2. The Pleading of the Lawyers for the Civil Parties: Hissein Habré, Guilty of Crimes According to the Victims No access
3. The Pleading of the Defense Lawyers: Hissein Habré, Defender of His Country and an Innocent Man No access
4. Notes No access
1. The Conviction of Hissein Habré No access
2. 1. The Claims of Civil Parties No access
  2. The Decision of the Assize Chamber No access
3. Notes No access
1. Grounds for the Defense Lawyers Appeal No access
2. Grounds for the Civil Parties’ Appeal No access
3. The Establishment of the Extraordinary African Assize Appeals Chamber No access
4. Proceedings before the Appeals Chamber No access
5. Appeal Judgment No access
6. Hissein Habré Serving His Life Imprisonment Sentence and the Problematic Fight for a Release No access
7. Notes No access
1. The Eruption of Reconciliation and Forgiveness in the Trial No access
2. The Uncertain Nature of Social Peace and Reconciliation in Chad after the Trial No access
3. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Chad to Purge the Past? No access
4. Notes No access
1. African Justice: Africans at the Heart of the Hissein Habré Case No access
2. 1. Support from Western NGOs No access
  2. Support from Western States No access
3. The Collective Responsibility of States and the International Community No access
4. Notes No access
Conclusion No access Pages 165 - 166
Bibliography No access Pages 167 - 180
Index No access Pages 181 - 188
About the Author No access Pages 189 - 190