Public Prosecutor v. Hissein Habré
Key Judgment
Legal Relevance
Keywords: Deprivation of Liberty | Judicial Protection | Refusal to Disclose Fate | Crimes Against Humanity
Themes: Characteristics of the Crime
The Chambers found that the victims were voluntarily put outside of the protection of the law, holding that even when the arrest of a person was legitimate this did not justify the failure to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty and the concealment of the person's fate and whereabouts. They found the accused responsible for the kidnapping of persons followed by their enforced disappearance - a crime against humanity.
Judgment Date
May 30, 2016
Country
Chad
Judicial Body
Extraordinary African Chambers
Articles violated
Article 6(1)(f) [SEAC]
Facts of the Case
Between June 1982 and December 1990, in Chad, hundreds of people arrested by the Documentation and Security Directorate and by the Chadian National Armed Forces were disappeared after being detained in secret prisons. The families of the disappeared persons did not receive any information about their fate or whereabouts, and did not have access to their remains when they were found in mass graves.