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| Former Leader of Chad Hauled Into Court as Trial Resumes | Former Leader of Chad Hauled Into Court as Trial Resumes |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| PARIS — Shouting in protest, Chad’s former president was hauled by masked guards into a special court in Senegal on Monday as he began a new struggle with its judges over their right to try him on charges of crimes against humanity, torture and war crimes. | |
| Wearing balaclavas to obscure their faces, four guards carried the former president, Hissène Habré — who wore a turban and sunglasses — into the courtroom, while he yelled “Mercenaries!” and “Scofflaws!” | Wearing balaclavas to obscure their faces, four guards carried the former president, Hissène Habré — who wore a turban and sunglasses — into the courtroom, while he yelled “Mercenaries!” and “Scofflaws!” |
| He kept resisting as the guards pinned him into his chair, pressing down his arms and legs. The scenes were captured on video streamed live on the Internet from the courtroom. | He kept resisting as the guards pinned him into his chair, pressing down his arms and legs. The scenes were captured on video streamed live on the Internet from the courtroom. |
| And, as during the opening session of his trial in July, some of Mr. Habré’s supporters began to create a ruckus to disrupt the proceedings, but they were quickly hustled out of court. | And, as during the opening session of his trial in July, some of Mr. Habré’s supporters began to create a ruckus to disrupt the proceedings, but they were quickly hustled out of court. |
| Mr. Habré, 72, once a close ally of the United States, is on trial before the Extraordinary African Chambers in Dakar, the Senegalese capital. The court was created especially to prosecute those deemed most responsible for crimes and serious violations of international law in Chad between 1982 and 1990, when Mr. Habré was the leader. | Mr. Habré, 72, once a close ally of the United States, is on trial before the Extraordinary African Chambers in Dakar, the Senegalese capital. The court was created especially to prosecute those deemed most responsible for crimes and serious violations of international law in Chad between 1982 and 1990, when Mr. Habré was the leader. |
| The court is based in Dakar because Mr. Habré lived there in undisturbed exile until Senegal, after 25 years of delay, was finally pressed by the African Union and an international court order to prosecute him. | The court is based in Dakar because Mr. Habré lived there in undisturbed exile until Senegal, after 25 years of delay, was finally pressed by the African Union and an international court order to prosecute him. |
| The trial is seen as a test of whether the African Union, with a history of brutal dictatorships among some members, can hold them to account. | The trial is seen as a test of whether the African Union, with a history of brutal dictatorships among some members, can hold them to account. |
| But the Habré trial, for all its hundreds of pages of evidence and a list of 80 witnesses and victims who will testify, was never expected to be easy. From the start, Mr. Habré called the court illegitimate and ordered his lawyers to stay away, forcing the judges to appoint new lawyers and to suspend the proceedings for 45 days. | But the Habré trial, for all its hundreds of pages of evidence and a list of 80 witnesses and victims who will testify, was never expected to be easy. From the start, Mr. Habré called the court illegitimate and ordered his lawyers to stay away, forcing the judges to appoint new lawyers and to suspend the proceedings for 45 days. |
| On Monday, the judges seemed determined to press on. They told Mr. Habré he would have to attend every day of his trial “whether you like it or not.” | On Monday, the judges seemed determined to press on. They told Mr. Habré he would have to attend every day of his trial “whether you like it or not.” |
| “We are here to try you without prejudice,” said the presiding judge from Burkina Faso, who was flanked by two judges from Senegal. | “We are here to try you without prejudice,” said the presiding judge from Burkina Faso, who was flanked by two judges from Senegal. |
| As a court official began reading the charges, Mr. Habré yelled out numerous times, “Shut up! Shut up!” and guards kept pinning his arms to his chair. Finally there was silence in the court as a long list of atrocity accusations was recited. | As a court official began reading the charges, Mr. Habré yelled out numerous times, “Shut up! Shut up!” and guards kept pinning his arms to his chair. Finally there was silence in the court as a long list of atrocity accusations was recited. |
| During Mr. Habré’s eight-year rule, 40,000 people were killed or died in his political prisons, according to a Truth Commission created by the Chadian government in 1992. | During Mr. Habré’s eight-year rule, 40,000 people were killed or died in his political prisons, according to a Truth Commission created by the Chadian government in 1992. |
| The commission also said that about 200,000 were imprisoned and often tortured. | The commission also said that about 200,000 were imprisoned and often tortured. |
| Prosecutors charge that Mr. Habré was a deeply suspicious man who took a close interest in the daily reports of his ubiquitous secret police and personally ordered executions and punitive raids against ethnic groups he suspected of disloyalty. | Prosecutors charge that Mr. Habré was a deeply suspicious man who took a close interest in the daily reports of his ubiquitous secret police and personally ordered executions and punitive raids against ethnic groups he suspected of disloyalty. |
| Little of him was visible in court on Monday, as he was hidden under flowing white robes, his face almost entirely covered by the turban wrapped around his head, desert style, leaving only his dark glasses uncovered. | Little of him was visible in court on Monday, as he was hidden under flowing white robes, his face almost entirely covered by the turban wrapped around his head, desert style, leaving only his dark glasses uncovered. |
| Philippe Houssine, a lawyer representing a victims group, asked the judges to order Mr. Habré to remove his turban and to show his face a sign of respect and for the “sake of the credibility” of the court. The judges did not respond. | Philippe Houssine, a lawyer representing a victims group, asked the judges to order Mr. Habré to remove his turban and to show his face a sign of respect and for the “sake of the credibility” of the court. The judges did not respond. |
| On Tuesday, the remainder of the indictment will be read out in court. The trial is expected to continue until late October. It will be conducted under the laws of Senegal, which have been amended to incorporate the international crimes applying to the case. | On Tuesday, the remainder of the indictment will be read out in court. The trial is expected to continue until late October. It will be conducted under the laws of Senegal, which have been amended to incorporate the international crimes applying to the case. |