Senegal To Try Ex-Chad Dictator

Senegal has agreed to change local laws and establish a commission to oversee the trial of ousted Chad dictator Hissene Habre. Habre is accused of killing and torturing thousands of people during his eight year reign, which ended in 1990. The AP story can be found here.
Habre has also been indicted in Belgium for war crimes and crimes against humanity under a universal jurisdiction theory. Sadly the law which allowed for this charge has since been repealed because of US pressure. Ironically, it was the US government which gave Habre “tens of millions of dollars per year in military aid” in the 80s. I think it is a real shame Belgium buckled because universal jurisdiction can bring justice to those that commit the worst kind of crimes against humanity. Hopefully the Senegalese courts will be able to try Habre fairly and the families of the 1000s of victims will receive some closure.