Chad's victims of Hissene Habre 'will inspire others' demanding justice
- 9 years ago
In the Chadian capital Ndjamena, the work of the Association of Victims of the Crimes of Hissene Habre has finally born fruit — 25 years after leaving the regime’s prisons, 15 years after they filed their first demand for justice. Clement Abaifouta, who heads the group, spent four years in cells.
Abaifouta said recently: “For the first time, an African head of state would be tried for atrocities he committed during his reign. It must serve as a lesson, otherwise this long march of 25 years will have served for nothing.”
Another prison survivor, Ginette Ngarbaye, is the association’s secretary, is one of the 100 victims offering testimony at the trial, out of thousands of civil plaintiffs. She endured the cold in prison, the heat, the insects, hunger, torture, rape and then childbirth. She demands the wrongdoers account for their crimes.
Ngarbaye said: “You’d be in the market, and they’d get you; in church, they’d get you; at work, in the street, they’d get you. I still don’t know
Abaifouta said recently: “For the first time, an African head of state would be tried for atrocities he committed during his reign. It must serve as a lesson, otherwise this long march of 25 years will have served for nothing.”
Another prison survivor, Ginette Ngarbaye, is the association’s secretary, is one of the 100 victims offering testimony at the trial, out of thousands of civil plaintiffs. She endured the cold in prison, the heat, the insects, hunger, torture, rape and then childbirth. She demands the wrongdoers account for their crimes.
Ngarbaye said: “You’d be in the market, and they’d get you; in church, they’d get you; at work, in the street, they’d get you. I still don’t know