Africa Guest Podcast Podcast

"Hissène Habré is an inmate of the international community"

This is RFI information. In a letter to the Senegalese authorities, the UN Committee against Torture opposes the possible release of Hissène Habré, the former president of Chad, who was sentenced in 2016 to life imprisonment for torture, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Explanations from Reed Brody, Human Rights Watch.

RFI : Why does the United Nations Committee against Torture oppose the possible release of Hissène Habré ?

Reed Brody : In fact, because a release of a mass murderer, a torturer, less than four years after his conviction, would not comply with Senegal's obligations. This means that the Convention against Torture obliges countries to punish acts of torture by means of penalties which take into account the gravity of these acts. So someone who is sentenced to eight years of torture cannot be pardoned less than four years after being sentenced. In fact, there are two legal issues in it. First, Hissène Habré, as recognized by the Senegalese Minister of Justice Malick Sall, is not a prisoner of Senegal. He is a prisoner of the international community. The statute of the Extraordinary African Chambers says black and white that Senegal is "bound by the length of the sentence".

That is to say that Senegal is in a way the host country of the condemned Hissène Habré like Great Britain is the host country of the condemned Charles Taylor ?

This is exactly it. And therefore any possible pardon for Hissène Habré should necessarily involve the African Union.

So, this is the first point…

And the second point is that, even supposing that there is a pardon procedure, the gravity of the crimes must be in the balance.

Does this mean that the crime of torture is not a crime like the others ?

That's right. And especially when we talk about systematic torture for eight years, including sexual slavery and rape.

From the first sentence of Hissène Habré to life imprisonment, it was on May 30, 2016, the Senegalese Minister of Justice at the time, Sidiki Kaba, had said : " a pardon is possible, because the execution of the sentence belongs to the State of Senegal ”. How do you react to this ?

I think the current Minister of Justice, Malick Sall, has a much more correct position on this matter. I think that Hissène Habré, as the minister said in November, " is not a detainee from Senegal, but a detainee from the international community ". And it is this statement, moreover, that has greatly reassured the victims, because this campaign for the release of Hissène Habré has sown the distress of the victims who are still suffering from the after-effects and who are also still waiting for their compensation.

But all the same, this opinion of the United Nations Committee against Torture, is it not an attack on the sovereignty of Senegal ?

No, because Senegal has ratified the convention [against torture]. We also hope that the letter from the UN committee will give the Senegalese government a way to resist the pressure from supporters and lawyers of Hissène Habré.

Beyond the wife of Hissène Habré, what are the political and other movements that are pressing for the release of Hissène Habré ?

There are certain NGOs which have always taken sides in favor of Hissène Habré. There are religious institutions that lobbied for the release of Hissène Habré. This is what is public. In private, we do not know what the different pressures are on the government.

When you speak of " religious institutions ", are you referring to brotherhoods that are well established in Senegal ?

The brotherhoods have not taken a position. But there are Islamic organizations which have asked for the release of Hissène Habré.

So, is there a real campaign in favor of the release of Hissène Habré ?

Absolutely. Ms. Habré has multiplied the declarations. We saw her several times on the front page of Senegalese written and television newspapers. So, we imagine that behind, there is also a lot of pressure on the Senegalese government.

And for you, there are first the victims ?

Obviously, we must not forget that there are thousands of victims of torture, thousands of widows and orphans who are still suffering the trauma and the consequences of the crimes of Hissène Habré. And Hissène Habré was not only sentenced to prison, but he was ordered to pay around 125 million euros in compensation to these victims. Hissène Habré has not yet given a cent. So before Hissène Habré can ask for leniency, the victims say he must stop hiding his money…

But Hissène Habré says he has no more money…

Hissène Habré was accused by the Chadian Commission of Inquiry of having emptied the coffers of the Treasury before fleeing to Senegal. The former Prime Minister of Senegal, [the banker] Abdoul Mbaye, admitted having received and even laundered this money. So the victims ask where the money is and why Hissène Habré continues to hide it.

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