Trial of Hissene Habre Begins

An historic trial of a brutal dictator is set to begin in Senegal, 25 years after the end of the brutal reign of Hissene Habre came to an end.

The Associated Press reports the trial is revolutionary because it is the first time an African government has arrested and prosecuted an African ruler accused of crimes against the population over which they ruled. Habre ruled neighboring Chad from 1982-1990 before being overthrown and fleeing to Senegal, where he lived openly and freely until his arrest in 2013, also an historic event at the time.

The trial began Monday July 20 in Senegal's Extraordinary African Chambers, which has universal jurisdiction, meaning it can prosecute crimes that occurred outside of Senegal.

In a report from the current government in Chad, Habre and his regime is accused of complicity in 40,000 deaths via torture such as beating, burning, whipping, and pulling out victims fingernails. The majority of the crimes were carried out by a special police force called the Directorate of Documentation and Security which Habre used to silence criticism and political opposition.

As a part of the trial, Habre will have to see some of his victims face to face, as around 100 people imprisoned and tortured under his rule are set to testify at the trial.

While Habre was arrested in 2013, it took 13 years to get from his original indictment by a Senegalese judge to the arrest. As the case made its way through various jurisdictional and international dispute, it even ended up in Belgium for a time before finding its way back to Senegal and the Extraordinary African Chambers.

Most of the evidence for the trial comes from the efforts of previous victims of Habre who were so traumatized by their experiences inside his jails that they dedicated their life to bringing him to justice.