To be in a position to try Habre, Senegal has had to amend its laws to adopt the concept of “universal jurisdiction”, the basis in international law for one country to judge a foreigner for offences allegedly committed in another.
Chief prosecutor Mbacke Fall says his team have heard from almost 2,500 victims and 60 witnesses since the opening of the investigation against Habre in July 2013.
– ‘Huge expectations’ –
More than 4,000 “direct or indirect” victims have been registered as civil parties to the case and the court is scheduled to hear from 100 witnesses over three months.
The nine million euro ($10 million) trial will be filmed and released offline, according to Fall, while a selection of sessions will be shown by the Senegalese state broadcaster RTS.
If Habre is convicted, he can expect anything from 30 years to life with hard labour, to be served in Senegal or another African Union country.
After sentencing a second phase of the hearings would rule on civil compensation claims.
Assane Dioma Ndiaye, a lawyer for the civil parties, described the case as “historic” and underlined the “huge expectations” of the victims.
“There could have been no impunity in this case,” he said.
Clement Abaifouta, of the Association of Victims of Crimes of the Regime of Hissene Habre, has come to Dakar with the hope of finally understanding the reasons for his arrest 30 years ago and his four years of unimaginable suffering in custody.
Abaifouta became known as “The Gravedigger” as he was forced daily to bury the victims of torture, starvation and other abuses among his fellow inmates.
“Up to today, I don’t know the reason why I was arrested,” he told AFP.
“I’m prepared to ask this question to Habre: for what reason was I arrested? I suffered for what reason? I don’t know”.
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