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| Trial of Ex-Leader of Chad Suspended After He Refuses to Speak | Trial of Ex-Leader of Chad Suspended After He Refuses to Speak |
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| PARIS — The long-awaited trial of Hissène Habré, the former strongman of Chad, was suspended on Tuesday — its second day — because Mr. Habré refused to speak and his defense lawyers did not show up. | PARIS — The long-awaited trial of Hissène Habré, the former strongman of Chad, was suspended on Tuesday — its second day — because Mr. Habré refused to speak and his defense lawyers did not show up. |
| The judges of the special tribunal in Dakar, Senegal, that is trying Mr. Habré immediately announced that court-appointed defense lawyers would take over, and gave them 45 days to prepare. The judges said that the trial would resume on Sept. 7. | The judges of the special tribunal in Dakar, Senegal, that is trying Mr. Habré immediately announced that court-appointed defense lawyers would take over, and gave them 45 days to prepare. The judges said that the trial would resume on Sept. 7. |
| On Tuesday, Mr. Habré was back in the courtroom against his will, brought in by guards, court video showed. On Monday, he refused to return to court after being forcibly removed when he began shouting. | On Tuesday, Mr. Habré was back in the courtroom against his will, brought in by guards, court video showed. On Monday, he refused to return to court after being forcibly removed when he began shouting. |
| “This is not a court, these judges are just administrators, they are on a political mission,” he said. | “This is not a court, these judges are just administrators, they are on a political mission,” he said. |
| Mr. Habré, 72, once a close ally of France and the United States, has made it plain from the start that he would boycott the special court established by the African Union to try him on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture committed in Chad during his eight-year rule. | Mr. Habré, 72, once a close ally of France and the United States, has made it plain from the start that he would boycott the special court established by the African Union to try him on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture committed in Chad during his eight-year rule. |
| On Tuesday, he refused the chief judge’s request to stand up, then declined to respond when asked if he had lawyers to defend him. “Hissène Habré refuses to appear before this court and to defend himself, and of course his lawyers have to respect this,” said François Serres, a French lawyer who heads his team, speaking by phone from Dakar. | On Tuesday, he refused the chief judge’s request to stand up, then declined to respond when asked if he had lawyers to defend him. “Hissène Habré refuses to appear before this court and to defend himself, and of course his lawyers have to respect this,” said François Serres, a French lawyer who heads his team, speaking by phone from Dakar. |
| For those who were victims of torture and other crimes or whose relatives were killed during the years that Mr. Habré was president of the country and for the human rights groups supporting them, the delay was a setback, which some feared might even derail the trial. | For those who were victims of torture and other crimes or whose relatives were killed during the years that Mr. Habré was president of the country and for the human rights groups supporting them, the delay was a setback, which some feared might even derail the trial. |
| Their campaign to put Mr. Habré in the dock had long involved a search for a venue. The International Criminal Court in The Hague had no jurisdiction, because it could only investigate events after July 2002, when the court was established. The atrocities in Chad occurred in the 1980s. | Their campaign to put Mr. Habré in the dock had long involved a search for a venue. The International Criminal Court in The Hague had no jurisdiction, because it could only investigate events after July 2002, when the court was established. The atrocities in Chad occurred in the 1980s. |
| A court in Senegal, where Mr. Habré fled after he was overthrown in 1990, first indicted him in 2000, because Senegal was a party to the Convention against Torture. But the court dropped the case after government pressure. Victims then filed a complaint in Belgium, which requested Mr. Habré’s extradition. | A court in Senegal, where Mr. Habré fled after he was overthrown in 1990, first indicted him in 2000, because Senegal was a party to the Convention against Torture. But the court dropped the case after government pressure. Victims then filed a complaint in Belgium, which requested Mr. Habré’s extradition. |
| After years of foot-dragging and an order from the International Court of Justice, either to try him or extradite him, Senegal turned to the African Union, an organization that had long complained that Africans had been singled out by international courts. | |
| Finally, heads of state in the African Union voted that rather than send Mr. Habré to Belgium, he would be put on trial in Senegal “on behalf of Africa.” | Finally, heads of state in the African Union voted that rather than send Mr. Habré to Belgium, he would be put on trial in Senegal “on behalf of Africa.” |