{"id":168241,"date":"2026-11-09T11:05:21","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T10:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/?p=168241"},"modified":"2026-11-09T11:14:43","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T10:14:43","slug":"central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html","title":{"rendered":"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some call it the \u201cBoziz\u00e9 trial\u201d because former Central African president Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9 is listed among the defendants. But the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 case is being heard in Bangui in his absence. And it has not yet addressed the crux of the matter: crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Central Africans call this the \u201cempty chair trial\u201d. The main defendant, former head of state (2003\u20132013) Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9, is not in the dock. Instead, sitting in a wheelchair, is Eug\u00e8ne Nga\u00efkoisset, alongside Firmin Junior Danboy and Vianney Semndiro. They are all members of the military from the Gbaya ethnic group, the same as Boziz\u00e9\u2019s. These men are accused of having acted as Boziz\u00e9\u2019s henchmen. They are being prosecuted for having been in charge of the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 military training centre, 150 kilometres north of Bangui, and for having exercised control over the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 civilian prison where the judicial authorities had no power. The military training centre was regarded as a place where the former head of state\u2019s political opponents were punished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the fifth trial before the Special Criminal Court (CPS)<\/a> in the Central African Republic\u2019s capital Bangui. The crimes being tried there, classified as crimes against humanity, took place in Bangui, Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 and Bouar between February 2009 and 2013. Since the trial began on June 6, the alleged perpetrators have seen 18 witnesses take the stand out of some 50 announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The June 2010 fire at Rayan supermarket in Bangui city centre is one of the incidents forming part of the case. A hearing on October 5 was devoted to questioning Prosper Banga, a former member of the Bar Council. He worked at the law firm of a Togolese national who was opposed to the sale of the Bangui 2000 building, which Rayan owner Ali Akhras wanted to acquire. According to witness Banga, who is also a victim, Boziz\u00e9 allegedly ordered his arrest and those of more than 20 other people all sent to Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 prison. He affirms that his arrest was unlawful. He said those detained included employees of the law firm and of the Rayan supermarket, all accused of setting fire to its premises, resulting in a loss of several hundred million CFA francs. The witness claims he was put in arbitrary detention and spent four days at the Research and Investigation Section (SRI), an investigative unit of the National Gendarmerie in Bangui, before being transferred to Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 by the Presidential Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
From left to right, the defendants Eug\u00e8ne Ngaikoisset, Firmin Junior Danboy, and Vianney Semndiro, wearing orange jumpsuits, stand behind their attorneys before the Special Criminal Court in Bangui. Photo: \u00a9 Special Criminal Court<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A room crawling with scorpions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were transported in a container attached to the back of a large vehicle and escorted by the Presidential Guard,\u201d said Banga. \u201cWe arrived in Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 at night; it was Captain Semndiro who received us. He had been told we were Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9\u2019s personal prisoners. We were then put in a very dirty room, crawling with scorpions and fleas. We slept on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSemndiro would occasionally give us enough money to buy food,\u201d the witness continued. \u201cThere was a prisoner in the room whose physical condition spoke volumes. He told us: \u2018when you come here, you\u2019d better know how to pray\u2019. He told us he had been captured at the border with Chad, along with many other people who were killed and buried within the grounds of the training centre. Such a situation can only instil fear, Your Honour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you suffer any physical violence?\u201d asked presiding judge Aim\u00e9 Pascal D\u00e9limon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, Your Honour. But we were threatened by the soldiers, who told us: \u2018you set fire to the Rayan supermarket; now it\u2019s our turn to finish you off\u2019. I had high blood pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you know Charles Massy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, but I\u2019ve heard of him. It was Dido, the one we found in the cell, who told us that he was also being held at the military interrogation centre [Massy was arrested in December 2009]. They\u2019d taken him to BenZamb\u00e9 [Boziz\u00e9\u2019s home village], but [Dido] didn\u2019t know whether he was alive or dead. Because he never returned.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Massy, a former minister and opponent of the Boziz\u00e9 regime, was tortured and then beheaded in 2012 by Boziz\u00e9\u2019s henchmen, before being \u201cdissolved in lye\u201d, according to his son Eric Neric Massy, who gave evidence before the CPS last June<\/a>. These henchmen allegedly even made a video of Massy\u2019s torture, which remains missing. According to Massy\u2019s son, Boziz\u00e9 watched it at the presidential palace with his henchmen, some of whom are among the defendants in the dock. Eric Massy told the judges he learned these things from an unnamed friend of one of Boziz\u00e9\u2019s sons who had heard them from the son himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\tFIND THIS ARTICLE INTERESTING?\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\tSign up now for our (free) newsletter<\/a> to make sure you don't miss out on other publications of this type. \t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow long did you spend at the interrogation centre?\u201d asked the judge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter a month, we were ordered to be transferred to the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 civilian prison, but the situation there was still dire,\u201d replied the witness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy do you say that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs soon as we arrived, we were put in a room with a red door. It was a very small cell where we were crammed together. We slept in our own excrement. Only one corporal, Yaya, had the keys to that cell. If you were put in there, you had to wait for him to return before you could get out, even if he went to Bangui.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho ran this detention centre?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was the Presidential Guard. The judicial authorities had no power over the civilian detention centre. But we were allowed visitors, unlike at the military investigation centre. It was thanks to us that prisoners from distant regions were able to eat. I remember the day one of us was ill. Immediately after eating, he vomited. One of the prisoners ran over, picked up the vomit and ate it. That\u2019s when we realised the extent of their suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow did the guards behave?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey behaved well as long as we gave them something. We gave them money. But those who didn\u2019t have money were mistreated. People were even killed in the prison.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow did you return to Bangui?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my case, I was seriously ill. It was the district chief medical officer who recommended my evacuation to Bangui.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little evidence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In response to this testimony, the defence argued that the remand in custody of those sent to Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 was ordered by judicial authorities and so could not be blamed on the defendants. Some of them like Firmin Junior Danboy were not even in the country, according to Danboy\u2019s lawyer Guy Rufin Pambangui.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Special Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office, represented by international prosecutor Alexandre Timbano, considers that the victims are not entitled to a defence, and that detainees may be deprived of their liberty but not all the fundamental needs of a human being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst the trial is proceeding in accordance with the rules, very little evidence has been presented to the court \u2013 with the exception of a few administrative documents sent to the relevant authorities to shed light on disappearances, videos of \u00c9ric Massy on the TV5 television channel speaking about his father\u2019s disappearance, and a few newspaper reports on the disappearances and arrests, deemed arbitrary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Nicaise Doukoua of the Central African Human Rights Observatory, there is nevertheless a link between the accused and the alleged crimes, as they successively held command of the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 military training centre. \u201cAs for the civilian prison, why was it only the Presidential Guard that controlled the prison and not the Republican Guard?\u201d he asked. He also mentioned the case of Semndiro, who is alleged to have slapped and imprisoned the prison governor after the governor objected to Semndiro removing prisoners \u2013 prisoners he would always return in smaller numbers, claiming they had escaped. Doukoua also mentioned the absence of CCTV footage from the Bangui 2000 building, which could be a key piece of evidence in establishing the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n

\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t
Recommended reading<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
\"Toussaint<\/div><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\tCPS, the other \u201cheadless\u201d court\r\n\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some call it the \u201cBoziz\u00e9 trial\u201d because former Central African president Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9 is listed among the defendants. But the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 case is being heard in Bangui in his absence. And it has not yet addressed the crux of the matter: crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":231,"featured_media":168222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[2653,3077],"ji_location":[2165],"class_list":["post-168241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mixed-tribunals","tag-crime-against-humanity","tag-special-criminal-court","ji_location-central-african-republic"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCentral African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some call it the \u201cBoziz\u00e9 trial\u201d because former Central African president Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9 is listed among the defendants. But the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 case is being heard in Bangui in his absence. And it has not yet addressed the crux of the matter: crimes against humanity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some call it the \u201cBoziz\u00e9 trial\u201d because former Central African president Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9 is listed among the defendants. But the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 case is being heard in Bangui in his absence. And it has not yet addressed the crux of the matter: crimes against humanity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"JusticeInfo.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-09T10:05:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-09T10:14:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Centrafrique_Cour-penale-speciale-Bossembele-1_@Andy-Avila-Bissayo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"775\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"582\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andy Avila Bissayo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@justiceinfonet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@justiceinfonet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andy Avila Bissayo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Andy Avila Bissayo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ce43d6101fc5900fcb4cadb2e5a871bf\"},\"headline\":\"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-09T10:05:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-09T10:14:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html\"},\"wordCount\":1345,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Centrafrique_Cour-penale-speciale-Bossembele-1_@Andy-Avila-Bissayo.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"crime against humanity\",\"Special Criminal Court\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Mixed tribunals\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html\",\"name\":\"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Centrafrique_Cour-penale-speciale-Bossembele-1_@Andy-Avila-Bissayo.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-09T10:05:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-09T10:14:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"Some call it the \u201cBoziz\u00e9 trial\u201d because former Central African president Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9 is listed among the defendants. But the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 case is being heard in Bangui in his absence. And it has not yet addressed the crux of the matter: crimes against humanity.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Centrafrique_Cour-penale-speciale-Bossembele-1_@Andy-Avila-Bissayo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Centrafrique_Cour-penale-speciale-Bossembele-1_@Andy-Avila-Bissayo.jpg\",\"width\":775,\"height\":582,\"caption\":\"Former soldiers Firmin Junior Danboy (seated on the left) and Vianney Semndiro are being prosecuted before the Central African Special Criminal Court for having controlled the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 civilian prison, an alleged site of political repression during Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9\u2019s presidency. Photo: \u00a9 Special Criminal Court\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"JusticeInfo.net\",\"description\":\"For justice to be done, it must be seen\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Justice Info\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png\",\"width\":1199,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"Justice Info\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.justiceinfo.net\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/JusticeInfo\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/justiceinfonet\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/justice-info\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCyCEsARodyuWtkWyhn-e7pA\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Andy Avila Bissayo\",\"url\":\"\\\/en\\\/?s=Andy Avila Bissayo\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9","description":"Some call it the \u201cBoziz\u00e9 trial\u201d because former Central African president Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9 is listed among the defendants. But the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 case is being heard in Bangui in his absence. And it has not yet addressed the crux of the matter: crimes against humanity.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9","og_description":"Some call it the \u201cBoziz\u00e9 trial\u201d because former Central African president Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9 is listed among the defendants. But the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 case is being heard in Bangui in his absence. And it has not yet addressed the crux of the matter: crimes against humanity.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html","og_site_name":"JusticeInfo.net","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/","article_published_time":"2026-11-09T10:05:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-11-09T10:14:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":775,"height":582,"url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Centrafrique_Cour-penale-speciale-Bossembele-1_@Andy-Avila-Bissayo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andy Avila Bissayo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9","twitter_creator":"@justiceinfonet","twitter_site":"@justiceinfonet","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andy Avila Bissayo","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html"},"author":{"name":"Andy Avila Bissayo","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ce43d6101fc5900fcb4cadb2e5a871bf"},"headline":"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9","datePublished":"2026-11-09T10:05:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-09T10:14:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html"},"wordCount":1345,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Centrafrique_Cour-penale-speciale-Bossembele-1_@Andy-Avila-Bissayo.jpg","keywords":["crime against humanity","Special Criminal Court"],"articleSection":["Mixed tribunals"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html","name":"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Centrafrique_Cour-penale-speciale-Bossembele-1_@Andy-Avila-Bissayo.jpg","datePublished":"2026-11-09T10:05:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-09T10:14:43+00:00","description":"Some call it the \u201cBoziz\u00e9 trial\u201d because former Central African president Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9 is listed among the defendants. But the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 case is being heard in Bangui in his absence. And it has not yet addressed the crux of the matter: crimes against humanity.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Centrafrique_Cour-penale-speciale-Bossembele-1_@Andy-Avila-Bissayo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Centrafrique_Cour-penale-speciale-Bossembele-1_@Andy-Avila-Bissayo.jpg","width":775,"height":582,"caption":"Former soldiers Firmin Junior Danboy (seated on the left) and Vianney Semndiro are being prosecuted before the Central African Special Criminal Court for having controlled the Bossemb\u00e9l\u00e9 civilian prison, an alleged site of political repression during Fran\u00e7ois Boziz\u00e9\u2019s presidency. Photo: \u00a9 Special Criminal Court"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/168241-central-african-republic-a-bozize-trial-without-bozize.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Central African Republic: a Boziz\u00e9 trial without Boziz\u00e9"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/","name":"JusticeInfo.net","description":"For justice to be done, it must be seen","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization","name":"Justice Info","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png","width":1199,"height":1200,"caption":"Justice Info"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/","https:\/\/x.com\/justiceinfonet","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/justice-info","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyCEsARodyuWtkWyhn-e7pA"]},{"@type":"Person","name":"Andy Avila Bissayo","url":"\/en\/?s=Andy Avila Bissayo"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/231"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168241"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168249,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168241\/revisions\/168249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168241"},{"taxonomy":"ji_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ji_location?post=168241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}