| Rapports
sur les relations éthniques /
Reports on Ethnic Relations |
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The
following section is consisted of part, full or summaries of
articles from diverses sources (newspapers, newsletters, etc...).
La section suivante est constituée d'exraits, de la totalité
ou de résumés d'articles provenant d'origines
diverses (journaux,bulletins, etc..).
12
/ 06 / 2002
IRIN
The Article:"Ex-President
Hissene Habre's immunity waived"
Human
Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday hailed the waiver of ex-President
Hissene Habre's immunity by the Chadian government, saying it
would pave way for his prosecution in Belgium. It also opens the
way for his indictment and extradition from Senegal where he lives
in exile, HRW said in a news release.
"This
waiver is a clear green light for Habre's prosecution," Reed
Brody of HRW, which helped the Chadian victims file the case against
Habre said.
"We are one step closer to the day when Habre will have to
answer in a court of law for his terrible crimes."
In
a letter to the Belgian judge investigating the charges against
Habre, Chad's Justice Minister Djimnain Koudj-Gaou wrote: "Hissene
Habre cannot claim to enjoy any form of immunity from the Chadian
authorities".
The
document dated 7 October, 2002, was given to HRW on Friday and
the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH), which
immediately
made it public.
In
February and March, the Belgian judge, Daniel Fransen, visited
Chad
with a police team to investigate the charges against Habre. The
judge
visited Habre-era prisons and mass grave sites and interviewed
victims as
well as many of Habre’s collaborators, HRW said.
The
investigation has since been put on hold, however, as Belgian
courts,
restricted the scope of the anti-atrocity to cases in which the
accused is
already indicted in Belgium. The Belgian parliament is now considering
two
laws to overturn those decisions and restore the law’s longer
reach, it
added.
Meanwhile
Chadian activists hailed the waiver, HRW said. "For the first
time, the Chadian government has committed itself to bring about
justice
and fighting impunity," it quoted Dobian Assingar, president
of the
Chadian League for Human Rights and vice-president of the FIDH,
as saying.
"We welcome this stand, but we will remain vigilant to see
how this plays
out."
Habre,
labeled an "African Pinochet", was indicted in Senegal
two years ago on charges of torture and crimes against humanity
before the
Senegalese courts ruled that he could not be tried there.
Chadian
victims then filed charges against him in Belgium. The president
of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, has said that he would extradite Habre
to
Belgium if a request were made, HRW said.
More
information on the cases against Hissene Habre can be found at
http://www.hrw.org/justice/habre/
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