Hissène Habré was President of Chad from June 7, 1982 to December 1, 1990. On May 30, 2016 the Extraordinary African Chambers, a court sitting in Dakar, Senegal, under an agreement between Senegal and the African Union, found him guilty of crimes against humanity, the autonomous crime of torture, and war crimes, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The Appeals Chamber confirmed the sentence on April 27, 2017. He died in Dakar on August 24, 2021.
The crimes for which he was convicted were committed during those years. The Chamber found that they were committed continuously over eight years and that they affected thousands of victims.
Habré left Chad in December 1990 and settled in Senegal. The case against him took more than two decades to reach a court. In 2012 the International Court of Justice ruled in a dispute between Belgium and Senegal over his case. It found by fourteen votes to two that Senegal, by failing to submit the case to its prosecuting authorities, had breached its obligation under Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention against Torture. In its operative clause the Court directed that Senegal "must, without further delay, submit the case of Mr. Hissène Habré to its competent authorities" for prosecution if it did not extradite him.
On August 22, 2012 Senegal and the African Union signed the agreement that created the Extraordinary African Chambers within the Senegalese court system. Habré was arrested in Dakar on June 30, 2013 and charged before the new court.
The trial opened on July 20, 2015. Habré did not recognize the authority of the court, and his defense was conducted by counsel appointed by the court. The Chamber heard 96 victims, witnesses and experts, produced more than 5,600 pages of transcripts and admitted 56 exhibits.
The Chamber, in the operative part of its summary judgment, declared Habré guilty of crimes against humanity; of the autonomous crime of torture under Article 8 of its Statute; and of war crimes of murder, torture, inhuman treatment and unlawful detention. It acquitted him of the war crime of unlawful transfer. It found that the aggravating circumstances clearly outweighed the mitigating ones. It sentenced him to life imprisonment, declined to order confiscation of seized assets, and told him that he had fifteen days to appeal.
On July 29, 2016 the Chamber issued its decision on reparations, admitting the civil party claims of the victims named in an annex to the judgment and awarding sums to individual victims and to their relatives. It rejected the claims for collective reparations.
The Appeals Chamber delivered its judgment on April 27, 2017. In its operative part it partly set aside the decision on public action of May 30, 2016, acquitting Habré of the count of rape by direct commission concerning one complainant, and stated that this partial reversal had no effect on the sentence imposed by the trial chamber. It rejected the remaining grounds of appeal and confirmed the rest of the criminal judgment, including the life sentence.
On reparations, the Appeals Chamber declared admissible the civil party applications of 7,396 victims and fixed the total reparations at 82,290,000,000 CFA francs, which Habré was ordered to pay. It directed the trust fund created by the African Union to carry out the individual reparations and to trace and recover his assets.
Habré died on August 24, 2021 in Dakar, Senegal.
June 7, 1982: Habré becomes President of Chad.
December 1, 1990: His presidency ends.
December 1990: He settles in Senegal.
July 20, 2012: International Court of Justice judgment in Belgium v. Senegal.
August 22, 2012: Senegal and the African Union sign the agreement creating the Extraordinary African Chambers.
June 30, 2013: Habré is arrested in Dakar and charged.
July 20, 2015: Trial opens in Dakar.
May 30, 2016: Judgment: life imprisonment.
July 29, 2016: Reparations decision.
April 27, 2017: Appeals Chamber confirms the sentence and fixes reparations at 82,290,000,000 CFA francs.
August 24, 2021: Habré dies in Dakar.