In the Central African Republic, the Appeals Chamber of the Special Criminal Court delivered its latest verdict on Thursday concerning the massacre of 46 civilians in May 2019 in villages in northwestern CAR. Issa Sallet Adoum, Yaouba Ousmane and Mahamat Tahir, three members of the 3R armed group, were sentenced to 30 and 20 years’ imprisonment respectively.
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With our correspondent in Bangui, Rolf Steve Domia-leu
This verdict by the Special Criminal Court was eagerly awaited in Central African Republic since four years. Created by the Central African authorities in 2018, this hybrid court has the mission to judge crimes committed in the country since 2003. He ruled this Thursday on facts that date from May 2019.
At the time, armed men belonging to the rebel group “Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation”, known as 3R, attacked the villages of Koundjili and Lemouna in northwestern CAR. They had killed 46 civilians and committed rapes during the attack.
Three days after the killing, Issa Sallet Adoum, Ousman Yaouba and Mahamat Tahir, members of the 3Rs who had participated in the assassinations, had been arrested by Minusca and handed over to the Special Criminal Court.
In 2022, the judge of the assize section sentenced Issa Sallet Adoum, leader of his section, to life imprisonment at first instance. Ousman Yaouba and Mahamat Tahir, considered co-authors, were sentenced to 20 years in prison. The defendants and their lawyers not being satisfied with this verdict, had appealed.
More than six months after being seized, the appeal chamber found the three defendants guilty of crimes against humanity and rape of civilians in Lemouna and Koundjili.
Issa Sallet’s sentence is reduced to 30 years while those of Ousman Yaouba and Mahamat Tahir are maintained at 20 years’ imprisonment. A verdict which is no longer subject to appeal.