Senegal, AU to set up Court to try Chad Ex-leader (SABC)

Posted by: JAR

Senegal and the African Union have decided to establish an international court to put on trial former Chadian President Hissene Habre on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the AU has said.

It has been agreed to create an ad hoc international court to try Mr Hissene Habre for crimes committed in Chad between 1982 and 1990", a  statement sent to the AFP bureau in Dakar said. Habre sought refuge in Senegal after being overthrown in 1990 by the current Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno. "The government of the republic of Senegal and the African Union will sign as soon as possible an agreement defining the modalities of the establishment of the said court," the statement said.

The procedures relating to this ad hoc international court "will be conducted on the basis of the (financial) resources mobilised during a donors' round table" organised in Dakar in November 2010.

The international community at that time promised to contribute $12 million to finance the trial of Habre. The decision to set up the ad hoc court followed a meeting in Addis Ababa, home to AU headquarters, on Wednesday and Thursday between members of the AU Commission and Senegal government representatives, the statement said