The Habré trial: Turbulence in the courtroom

Dakar, Senegal (WADR) – Drama unfolded today in Room 4 of the Dakar courthouse where the trial of former Chadian leader Hissene Habre is held when his supporters entered the court house.

20 July 2015

Hissène Habré, who was sitting quietly, alone in a seat in the first row of room 4, suddenly stood up uttering insults against the African Extraordinary Chambers (EAC) responsible for the trial. This caused an immediate reaction from his family and his supporters who were attending the trial. All of them rose from their seats and, in a simultaneous clamor, started insulting the Senegalese judiciary and the African Union authorities who together with Senegal instituted the African Extraordinary Chambers.
Hissène Habré struggled with the prison guards until he was finally led forcefully to the dock. In their statements, Habré and his followers treated the African servants as valets in the West. "They used you to kill Sankara," said one of them.
Hissène Habré who does not recognize the African chambers had refused to appear, but he was taken forcibly to the bar. Dressed all in white with a turban wrapped around his head, Habre just left space for his eyes to be seen. He is under the surveillance of a special force of the prison administration that prevented the press from taking pictures.
Hissene Habré is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture.
Karl Rudolph from the courthouse in Dakar