Millions to victims

DAKAR: Former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre, sentenced to life in May for war crimes and crimes against humanity, was ordered by a court Friday to pay up to 30,000 euros ($33,000) to each of his victims.

A special court set up by the African Union to try Habre ordered he pay compensation to victims of rape, arbitrary detention and imprisonment.

The Extraordinary African Chambers ordered the former ruler to pay about $34,000 each to victims of sexual violence, $25,000 to those imprisoned or tortured, and $17,000 to indirect victims, including families of those who died.

The court didn’t announce the total figure but it is estimated to be more than $85 million.

The court’s presiding judge, Burkina Faso’s Gberdao Gustave Kam, did not state how many people were involved.

But the main lawyer for the victims of Habre’s 1982-1990 rule, Jacqueline Moudeina, told journalists that a total of 4,733 civil plaintiffs were involved, including 1,625 who were direct victims of his regime, having either been detained or having escaped detention.

The trial against Habre began in July 2015 and was the first in which courts of one country prosecuted the former ruler of another for alleged human rights crimes. Victims and survivors have been pursuing the case for more than 15 years.