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CAR Extends War Crimes Court


FILE: A court in the Central African Republic sentenced Issa Sallet Adoum, Ousman Yaouba and Tahir Mahamat to terms ranging from 20 years to life for crimes against humanity. The special war crimes court has now been extended for another five years.
FILE: A court in the Central African Republic sentenced Issa Sallet Adoum, Ousman Yaouba and Tahir Mahamat to terms ranging from 20 years to life for crimes against humanity. The special war crimes court has now been extended for another five years.

The Special Criminal Court, a tribunal set up to judge war crimes and crimes against humanity in Central African Republic, had its mandate extended for a further five years under a law passed Wednesday.

A draft bill put forward by Justice Minister Arnaud Djoubaye Abazene to extend the court's mandate by another five years was approved in a voice vote at the National Assembly.

This decision "marks the will of the Central African people... to continue the fight against impunity indefinitely," he said.

He warned against those "plotting against the institutions of the Republic, perpetrating violence and atrocities against peaceful citizens."

"They should know that justice will catch up with them."

The tribunal, set up in 2015 with UN backing, issued its first verdict this year after a long struggle in the face of financial and logistical hurdles and local hostility.

On October 31, it issued a life sentence and two 20-year terms against three members of the so-called 3R group, accused of taking part in a massacre in May 2019 in which 46 villagers died.

The special court is manned by judges and prosecutors who are a mix of nationals and foreigners from France, Togo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It began its first investigations in 2018, some three years after it was set up.

Its annual budget, worth 12 million euros (dollars), is mainly covered by the United Nations, European Union and United States.

Its terms of reference apply to suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity dating back to 2003, when a coup was staged by General Francois Bozize.

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