Ex-leader Habre appeals conviction for atrocities

Chad’s former ruler Hissene Habre has appealed against his conviction for crimes against humanity and war crimes, a spokesman for the Special African Chamber that conducted his trial in Senegal said. Habre, 73, an ally of the West during the Cold War, was sentenced on May 30 to life in prison for rape and ordering […]

Chad’s former ruler Hissene Habre has appealed against his conviction for crimes against humanity and war crimes, a spokesman for the Special African Chamber that conducted his trial in Senegal said.
Habre, 73, an ally of the West during the Cold War, was sentenced on May 30 to life in prison for rape and ordering the killing and torture of thousands of political opponents during his eight-year rule.
“The lawyer’s commission have submitted the paperwork for Habre’s appeal,” said Marcel Mendy, a spokesman for the Chamber, a tribunal created in 2013 by Senegal and the African Union for human rights crimes committed during Habre’s rule.
New judges will be appointed and the appeal will take at least seven months with no start date set, Mendy said.