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| Hissene Habre: Trial of Chad's ex-leader to resume | Hissene Habre: Trial of Chad's ex-leader to resume |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The war crimes trial of Chad's former President Hissene Habre is due to resume in Senegal's capital Dakar. | The war crimes trial of Chad's former President Hissene Habre is due to resume in Senegal's capital Dakar. |
| Mr Habre is accused of ordering the killing of 40,000 people during his rule in the 1980s, charges which he denies. | Mr Habre is accused of ordering the killing of 40,000 people during his rule in the 1980s, charges which he denies. |
| The trial was adjourned in July after Mr Habre and his lawyers refused to speak to the court. | |
| It marks the first time one African country has prosecuted the former leader of another. | |
| If he refuses to recognise his newly appointed legal team, the judge will have to decide whether to adjourn proceedings again or try Mr Habre against his will, reports BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy, who is in court. | If he refuses to recognise his newly appointed legal team, the judge will have to decide whether to adjourn proceedings again or try Mr Habre against his will, reports BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy, who is in court. |
| With many Africans denouncing the International Criminal Court as neo-colonial, this trial is considered a chance for the continent to show it can hold its leaders to account, our correspondent adds. | With many Africans denouncing the International Criminal Court as neo-colonial, this trial is considered a chance for the continent to show it can hold its leaders to account, our correspondent adds. |
| The trial follows a 25-year campaign to bring him to justice. | The trial follows a 25-year campaign to bring him to justice. |
| Many of Mr Habre's alleged victims have been calling for him to face justice since his overthrow and exile in Senegal in 1990. | Many of Mr Habre's alleged victims have been calling for him to face justice since his overthrow and exile in Senegal in 1990. |
| Who is Hissene Habre? | |
| • Born in 1942 to ethnic Toubou herders in northern Chad | |
| • Given scholarship to study political science in France | |
| • First came to the world's attention in 1974 when his FAN rebels captured three European hostages to ransom for money and arms | |
| • Seized power in 1982 allegedly with the help of the CIA and ousted by current President Idriss Deby in 1990 | |
| • Accused of systematically persecuting groups he distrusted | |
| • A former swimming pool was used as an underground prison where survivors say they were subjected to electric shocks, near-asphyxia and "supplice des baguettes", when their heads were squeezed between sticks | |
| Battle to bring Habre to court | |
| Profile: Hissene Habre | |
| Parallels have been drawn between the Habre process and attempts to get the former Chilean military leader Augusto Pinochet extradited and put on trial for crimes against humanity in Spain in 1998, leading Mr Habre to to be called "Africa's Pinochet". | |
| A Chadian truth commission found in 1992 that the Habre regime was responsible for 40,000 deaths and disappearances. | A Chadian truth commission found in 1992 that the Habre regime was responsible for 40,000 deaths and disappearances. |
| In 2005, a court in Belgium issued a warrant for his arrest, claiming universal jurisdiction but, after Senegal referred the issue to the African Union, the AU asked Senegal to try Mr Habre "on behalf of Africa". | In 2005, a court in Belgium issued a warrant for his arrest, claiming universal jurisdiction but, after Senegal referred the issue to the African Union, the AU asked Senegal to try Mr Habre "on behalf of Africa". |