 |
| Reuters |
Former Chadian President Hissène Habré died on August 23, 2021 at the age of 79 in Senegal, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016 by an African court.
Hissène Habré succumbed to Covid-19 at the main hospital in Dakar, as stated by the Chadian consulate to AFP. The former Chadian dictator was rushed to the hospital after his health deteriorated in a private clinic in the Senegalese capital. The Senegalese justice had authorized his provisional release from prison by declaring him particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus.
"One of the most ruthless dictators
Hissène Habré, who ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990, was sentenced on May 30, 2016 to life in prison after an unprecedented trial in Dakar, after being found guilty of crimes against humanity, rape, executions, slavery and kidnapping. A Chadian commission of inquiry put the number of victims of repression under the Habré regime at 40,000.
Overthrown in 1990, Hissène Habré found refuge in Senegal. Under international pressure, he was arrested in 2013 and indicted by a special tribunal set up in cooperation with the African Union.
"Habre will go down in history as one of the most ruthless dictators, as a man who massacred his own people in order to seize and maintain power. Reed Brody, a member of the International Justice Committee, which has been assisting the victims since 1999, said.