12.07.13 – WEEKLY SUMMARY – NDJAMENA LISTS HABRE ASSETS, ABIDJAN REFERS SIMONE GBAGBO TO NATIONAL COURT

Arusha, July 12, 2013 (FH) – Chad has started an inventory of the assets of former president Hissène Habré, who was arrested on June 30 in Dakar, Senegal. In Côte d’Ivoire, the case of Simone Gbagbo, wife of the former president detained in The Hague, has been referred to a criminal court. 

1 min 38Approximate reading time

Hissène Habré’s assets: Chad announced at the start of the week that it has started an inventory of the assets of former president Hissène Habré, even before his trial starts. Habré, who has been living in exile in Senegal for 22 years, was arrested in Dakar on June 30 and charged two days later with crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture. However, identifying all his assets will be no easy task since, as stated by Chadian Justice Minister Jean- Bernard Padaré, the suspect was careful to hide his fortune abroad. For his trial, the Senegalese government and the African Union (AU) signed an agreement to set up a special court in Senegal.

Simone Gbagbo referred to national criminal court: An Ivorian court on Wednesday referred 84 people close to former president Laurent Gbagbo, currently detained at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, for criminal trial in the country. The list includes Simone Gbagbo, wife of the ex-president, who is also under an ICC arrest warrant. The ICC has not issued a reaction to this decision of the Ivorian judicial authorities. The Court in The Hague wants Simone Gbagbo on suspicion of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts. As in the case of her husband, the suspected crimes were committed in Côte d’Ivoire between December 16, 2010 and April 12, 2011.

Request to suspend Al-Senoussi trial in Libya: Lawyers for Abdallah al-Senoussi, former Libyan intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi, are asking the International Criminal Court to order Libya to suspend the start of his trial until the ICC has delivered a final decision on Tripoli’s demands. A Libyan prosecutor announced on June 17 that several former officials, including Al-Senoussi and the former dictator’s son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, would be tried by a national court starting in August. The two men are, however, also under ICC arrest warrants with which Libya has not so far complied. Tripoli has argued before the ICC its right to judge them, but the Court has not yet issued a final decision.

NEXT WEEK

The ICC will sit next week to hear a new witness for the defence of Congolese Senator Jean-Pierre Bemba, on trial for crimes committed in the Central African Republic. The judges then go on judicial vacation until August 12. 

ER/JC