A blow for nothing in the Central African Republic. Seven years after its creation, the Special Criminal Court, this mixed court composed of national and international magistrates responsible for trying the most serious crimes committed in the CAR since 2003, was to hold its very first hearing on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. But barely l open hearing, it was postponed.
With our correspondent in Bangui, Carol Valade
This postponement is due to the absence of defense lawyers in front of this CPS where surprise and incomprehension now reign. Misunderstanding mainly on the side of victims’ associations. ” It’s sabotage confided one of their representatives. ” After all this work, how is such a hiccup possible? asks a Central African magistrate.
Barely opened, the hearing is postponed to April 25 due to, therefore, the absence of defense lawyers who defected at the last minute. According to the rumors currently circulating outside the courtroom, there would be a disagreement about their allowances. Now, the Court can either appoint other court-appointed lawyers, as requested by the prosecution, or even negotiate their return. Response in less than a week.
” A historic day »
The ceremony had however started well after an inaugural word from the Minister of Justice, welcoming “ a historic day “, then a word from the representative of the ICC who, for his part, underlined the exploit constituted by the holding of this trial. Indeed, the SCC is the only institution of its type in the world to try crimes committed in a conflict that is still ongoing today. So, seven years after its creation and after a laborious set-up, this first trial is truly a decisive step.
But the CPS has suffered from a deep crisis of confidence since the arrest last year of the Minister of Livestock. Hassan Bouba had been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, placed under a warrant of committal, before being exfiltrated from prison by the authorities and then reinstated in his functions. He had finally been decorated with the National Order of Merit by President Touadéra.
The CPS is also criticized for its lack of transparency concerning the cases it has taken up, the pre-trial detentions and the numerous arrest warrants not applied.