The lawyers of imprisoned former Chadian leader Hissene Habré have lodged a complaint against the medical officials of the special jail where their client is being held.
Local media quoted sources on Sunday as saying that the complaint was lodged on Friday after news filtered that Mr Habré’s health was deteriorating in jail.
He is alleged to have suffered heart attacks twice over the last week.
The lawyers argue that the ailment was due to the authority given by President Macky Sall for the trial to proceed.
The lawyers also accused the Dakar government of being manipulated by the French and Dutch governments by “forcing” their client to appear in court “against all odds”.
The incident follows a June 3 scuffle when Mr Habré allegedly attempted to resist appearance for the first time before the special court.
Dodging trial
Mr Habré was finally overpowered and appeared before the court, but refused to answer questions asked by judges of the AU-backed court in a bid to ascertain his identity.
The former leader was allegedly acting upon the instructions of his lawyers, sources said.
Following the failure to have him respond to any of the questions, the court adjourned his case to July 20.
Mr Habré has been held in jail for nearly two years after successfully dodging trial since he was overthrown in a military coup in 1990.
He is being pursued for crimes against humanity and for assassinating about 40,000 of his opponents while was in power between 1982 and 1990.
Mr Habré has always denied the charges and insisted that even his successor, President Idris Deby and many others, were guilty of similar charges and should be dragged to court.
Source: Africa Review
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