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Hissène Habré, Ex-President of Chad Jailed for War Crimes, Dies at 79 Hissène Habré, Ex-President of Chad Jailed for War Crimes, Dies at 79
(about 5 hours later)
Hissène Habré, the former president of Chad, has died while serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity, including killings, torture and sex offenses, during his rule in the 1980s. He was 79. DAKAR, Senegal — Hissène Habré, the former president of Chad, has died while serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity, including killings, torture and sex offenses, during his rule in the 1980s. He was 79.
Mr. Habré’s death Tuesday morning was confirmed by Lt. Mame Balla Faye, the director of the Cap Manuel prison in Senegal, the West African country where Mr. Habré was being held after being convicted there. Mr. Faye did not provide further details.Mr. Habré’s death Tuesday morning was confirmed by Lt. Mame Balla Faye, the director of the Cap Manuel prison in Senegal, the West African country where Mr. Habré was being held after being convicted there. Mr. Faye did not provide further details.
At the time of his death, however, he was not in prison, according to media reports. He had spent 10 days in a nearby clinic receiving treatment for complications related to diabetes and high blood pressure, Senegalese media said. Some reported that he had died after being infected with the coronavirus. At the time of his death, however, he was not in prison, according to news media reports. He had spent 10 days in a nearby clinic receiving treatment for complications related to diabetes and high blood pressure, Senegalese news media said. Some reported that he had died after being infected with the coronavirus.
Mr. Habré was allowed out of prison for 60 days in April 2020 because a judge said he was particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. His wife had long petitioned the Senegalese authorities to release him on health grounds even before the pandemic.Mr. Habré was allowed out of prison for 60 days in April 2020 because a judge said he was particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. His wife had long petitioned the Senegalese authorities to release him on health grounds even before the pandemic.
When Mr. Habré was convicted in 2016, he became the first former head of state to be convicted of crimes against humanity by another country’s courts. His victims celebrated their hard-won victory in the Dakar courtroom, having fought for justice for decades. But five years later, nearly 8,000 victims are still waiting for the $150 million in compensation they were jointly awarded. When Mr. Habré was convicted in 2016, he became the first former head of state to be convicted of crimes against humanity by another country’s courts.
He took power during a coup with aid from the United States, and he received weapons and assistance from France, Israel and the United States to keep Libya, Chad’s northern neighbor, at bay.
His rule was violent from the start. Prisoners of war and political opponents were killed. But the Reagan administration kept supplying him with weapons, to keep up the fight against Libya’s Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
A Chadian truth commission found that Mr. Habré’s government killed more than 40,000 people believed to be enemies of the state, including those who had merely come under suspicion, during his rule from 1982 to 1990.
Mr. Habré lost power in 1990 the way he took it, in a coup, and fled to Senegal, taking $12 million from the national bank accounts with him. For years, he lived quietly in the country’s coastal capital, Dakar, buying properties there, untroubled by the government of Abdoulaye Wade, which kept delaying his prosecution.
But the government of Mr. Wade’s successor as president, Macky Sall, set up a special court with the African Union — the Extraordinary African Chambers — to try Mr. Habré.
On the first day of his trial, he was dragged into the courtroom kicking and shouting insults at the judge. “Down with colonialism,” he said. But after that, he sat through the testimony of dozens of his victims, hiding his face behind a large white turban and sunglasses.
When he was convicted, those victims rejoiced, punched the air, cried and ululated in the court. They had fought for justice for decades.
But five years later, nearly 8,000 victims are still waiting for the $150 million in compensation they were jointly awarded.
“Since the trial, five years have passed. Nothing has been done,” said Clément Abaifouta, president of the Association of Victims of the Crimes of the Hissène Habré Regime. “The court of Dakar has not seized his property. The African Union, which is handling the case, does nothing. Up until now, Hissène Habré has not paid a single cent. Nothing.”“Since the trial, five years have passed. Nothing has been done,” said Clément Abaifouta, president of the Association of Victims of the Crimes of the Hissène Habré Regime. “The court of Dakar has not seized his property. The African Union, which is handling the case, does nothing. Up until now, Hissène Habré has not paid a single cent. Nothing.”
Mr. Abaifouta was arrested as a young student and spent four years in one of Mr. Habré’s notorious prisons, an experience that he said ruined his life. He was forced to dig the graves of his friends and cellmates, many of whom died because the prison conditions were so bad. He became known as the “gravedigger.”Mr. Abaifouta was arrested as a young student and spent four years in one of Mr. Habré’s notorious prisons, an experience that he said ruined his life. He was forced to dig the graves of his friends and cellmates, many of whom died because the prison conditions were so bad. He became known as the “gravedigger.”
He said that Mr. Habré’s death would bring no relief to his victims, because many former subordinates had not faced justice and still permeated Chad’s government.He said that Mr. Habré’s death would bring no relief to his victims, because many former subordinates had not faced justice and still permeated Chad’s government.
“Now, in Chad, you have governors, you have brigade commanders, commissioners, presidential advisers, all of whom worked with Hissène Habré,” Mr. Abaifouta said. “So the victims are still scared, even if Hissène Habré is no longer there. They’re everywhere, these people.”“Now, in Chad, you have governors, you have brigade commanders, commissioners, presidential advisers, all of whom worked with Hissène Habré,” Mr. Abaifouta said. “So the victims are still scared, even if Hissène Habré is no longer there. They’re everywhere, these people.”
The imprisonment, killings and torture carried out by Mr. Habré’s secret police, the Directorate of Documentation and Security, became widely known, thanks in part to the meticulous documentation of victim testimonies by a survivor who almost died in jail, Souleymane Guengueng. Mr. Guengueng promised himself that if he ever got out, he would bring his torturers to justice — and eventually, he did.
Reed Brody, who has worked with Mr. Habré’s victims for over two decades, said the former president would “go down in history as one of the world’s most pitiless dictators, a man who slaughtered his own people to seize and maintain power, who burned down entire villages, sent women to serve as sexual slaves for his troops and built clandestine dungeons to inflict medieval torture on his enemies.”Reed Brody, who has worked with Mr. Habré’s victims for over two decades, said the former president would “go down in history as one of the world’s most pitiless dictators, a man who slaughtered his own people to seize and maintain power, who burned down entire villages, sent women to serve as sexual slaves for his troops and built clandestine dungeons to inflict medieval torture on his enemies.”
A Chadian truth commission found that Mr. Habré’s government killed more than 40,000 people believed to be enemies of the state, including those who merely had come under suspicion, during his rule from 1982 to 1990. Mr. Habré’s successor and onetime army chief, Idriss Déby, died on the battlefield in April, and was succeeded by his son.
Mr. Habré took power during a coup with aid from the United States, and he received weapons and assistance from France, Israel and the United States to keep Libya, Chad’s northern neighbor, at bay.
He lost power in 1990 the way he took it, in a coup, and fled to Senegal. His successor, Idriss Déby, died on the battlefield last April, and was succeeded by his son.