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Hissene Habre trial verdict set for May 30

Senegal

The verdict of the trial of former Chadian President, Hissene Habre in Dakar will be on May 30.

The Chadian former president and his lawyers refused to plead guilty or not guilty when they appeared at the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC) on Thursday in Dakar.

A lawyer appointed by the court pleaded on his behalf. He is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of torture and has been placed on pre-trial detention since July 2, 2013.

His defence counsel, Francois Serre said they do not approve of the EAC.

“We do not recognize the legitimacy of African Chambers, We consider them as illegal institutions with inequitable procedure. That is the reason why we decided to plead in front of the only forum we recognize that is the Senegalese, African and international public opinion. “ he said.

Hissene Habre is standing trial for crimes allegedly committed during his time as president, 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.

Habre is accused of thousands of political killings and systematic torture and has been living in exile in Senegal since he was deposed from Chad.

The trial opened on July 20, 2015, but was suspended until September 7 to allow the court-appointed defense lawyers time to familiarize themselves with the case.

He had instructed his original lawyer not to appear in court.

The Extraordinary African Chambers is a “special ad hoc procedure of an international character” within the Senegalese judicial system which was set up in an agreement between Senegal and the African Union.

It was created to prosecute international crimes committed in Chad between 7 June 1982 and 1 December 1990. Two officials from his administration are also set to stand trial and have been indicted in Chad over international crimes allegedly committed, in Chad, during their term in office.

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