RCA: a former Seleka official before the International Criminal Court
Seleka fighters, in 2014. REUTERS / Goran Tomasevic
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The date of the trial has not yet been set.
Mahamat Saïd is accused of "
crimes against humanity
" and "
war crimes
" committed when he was in command of the Office for the repression of banditry in Bangui, in 2013, under the presidency of Michel Djotodia.
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With our correspondent in The Hague,
Stéphanie Maupas
The judges retained seven counts of torture, cruel treatment, deprivation of liberty, persecution and other inhumane acts.
Between April and August 2013, Mahamat Saïd and his men allegedly targeted, under his orders, the supposed supporters of former President François Bozizé.
According to the judges' decision, the victims were arrested, detained and ill-treated in the premises of the OCRB, the brigade for the repression of banditry.
Brigade led by Mahamat Saïd.
Accused of being François Bozizé's mercenaries, the victims were reportedly whipped and their families ransomed.
Rejected charges
All these accusations were confirmed, but the judges on the other hand rejected the accusations of crimes committed at Cedad, an intelligence service created by President Djotodia after he took power.
The prosecutor accused Mahamat Saïd of having interrogated and mistreated at least 33 supposed supporters of François Bozizé.
The judges noted in particular that the main witnesses did not mention the presence of the accused on the scene.
Before dismissing these charges.
Delivered to the ICC in January 2021, Mahamat Saïd is therefore now formally accused.
His trial is slated to be held in 2022, but judges have yet to set a date.
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Central African Republic
International justice
Michel Djotodia