An internationally backed court in the Central African Republic on Tuesday issued an international arrest warrant for the country’s exiled former president François Bozizé for human rights violations between 2009 and 2013, a spokesperson announced.
The Special Criminal Court was established in the capital Bangui to try war crimes and other human rights violations committed during coups and violence the country has experienced since 2003.
Central African Republic reports 10,000 children still fighting with armed groups
Court spokesman Gervais Bodazy-Lauret said the warrant was for crimes committed under Bozizé’s leadership in a private prison and a military training center in the city of Bossembellem, where many people were tortured and killed. Ta.
A spokesperson for the Central African Republic’s internationally supported court announced that the commission had issued an international arrest warrant for exiled former president François Bozizé on suspicion of human rights violations. (Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images)
Raul said the warrant covers crimes committed by the presidential guard and other security forces from 2009 to 2013.
Bozizé is currently in exile in Guinea-Bissau, where President Umaro Sissoko Embalo told The Associated Press that he had not received a request for an arrest warrant from Bangui and that country’s law does not allow extradition. Ta.
Ibrahim Nour, whose father was tortured and murdered in the notorious Bossembele prison, welcomed the arrest warrant.
“Justice may be slow, but it will eventually catch up with the executioners. That’s why I welcome the arrest warrants for the men who killed my father. We need to know more about them so we can begin to grieve. We are waiting for an explanation,” Noor said. .
The court was established in 2015, but took several years to become operational. Human Rights Watch says the establishment is a milestone in advancing justice for victims of serious crimes.
Patrick Rabda, an expert on international criminal law at the Polish Academy of Sciences, told The Associated Press that the warrant issued Tuesday sends a message about the court’s intention to prosecute wrongdoing by states.
“This arrest warrant is certainly one of the most high-profile developments in the five years the court has been operating,” Rabda said.
Bozizé seized power in a 2003 coup but was ousted ten years later by mainly Muslim Seleka rebels. This sparked a civil war between rebel forces and predominantly Christian militias, characterized by sectarian brutality and the forced use of child soldiers.
Both the United States and the United Nations have imposed sanctions on Bozizé for inciting violence.
The United Nations, which operates a peacekeeping mission in the country, estimates that thousands of people have been killed and more than a million people, a fifth of the population, have been displaced by the fighting. A peace agreement was reached between the government and 14 armed groups in 2019, but fighting continues.
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More than 10 years after the outbreak of civil war in the Central African Republic, the government announced earlier this year that around 10,000 children are still fighting alongside armed groups.
Audrey Yamare, a member of the 2013 Crisis Victims Association, said: “It is a great day for us victims to learn that François Bozizé is the subject of an international arrest warrant.” “But don’t stop there. We want Guinea-Bissau to help us extradite him.”
