A court in the Central African Republic (CAR) has launched the trial for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity against former president François Bozizé, who has lived in exile in Guinea Bissau since 2023 and has not appeared at the hearing. Three other former commanders of the Armed Forces are also accused in the case.
The proceedings are taking place before the Special Criminal Court (CPS, for its French acronym), created in June 2015 with the aim of investigating, prosecuting, and judging "serious human rights violations" committed in the country since 2003. This mixed body has 25 judges --thirteen Central Africans and twelve international-- and operates with the support of the United Nations.
The court issued an international arrest warrant against Bozizé in April 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity that were allegedly perpetrated between 2009 and 2013 --within the framework of his presidential mandate between 2003 and 2013-- by the Presidential Guard and security forces in the Bossembélé prison and military training center.
Alongside the former leader, three former high-ranking military officials are in the dock --Firmin Junior Danboy, Eugène Ngaikosset, and Vianney Semndiro--, to whom crimes of murder, forced disappearance, and torture are attributed. The three were arrested between 2021 and 2022 and remain in preventive detention.
The regional director of Amnesty International for West and Central Africa, Marceau Sivieude, has stressed that the opening of proceedings against Bozizé "demonstrates a notable will on the part of the CPS to fight against impunity and administer justice so that victims' right to justice and reparation becomes a reality."
"However, the fact that Bozizé is being tried in absentia considerably tarnishes this judicial process. It is essential that the former president be arrested, extradited, and tried in person," he stated, before adding that the court "can only fulfill its mandate if national authorities and all States, especially those hosting suspects, cooperate fully."
Along these lines, he recalled that "more than 30 suspects against whom the CPS has issued arrest warrants remain at large in other cases." "All must be arrested and brought before the competent court," Sivieude emphasized, according to a statement released by Amnesty International.
"The execution of arrest warrants guarantees fair trials in which victims and survivors can come face to face with the accused, and the accused have the opportunity to defend themselves," she explained. "And a crucial element: it also means that those found guilty of the most heinous crimes will face the consequences of their actions," she concluded.