International Arrest Warrant Issued for Former CAR President François Bozizé

The Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic has issued an international arrest warrant for former President François Bozizé for human rights abuses committed from 2009 to 2013.

The Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic has issued an international arrest warrant for exiled former President François Bozizé for human rights abuses committed during his tenure from 2009 to 2013. The warrant, issued Tuesday, covers crimes committed by the presidential guard and other security forces, including torture and killings at a civilian prison and a military training center in Bossembélém.

Court spokesperson Gervais Bodagy Laoulé said the crimes were committed under Bozizé's leadership, and the warrant also includes accusations of torture and killings. Bozizé currently lives in exile in Guinea-Bissau, where President Umaro Sissoco Embaló told the Associated Press that he had not received any request from Bangui about the arrest warrant and that the country's laws do not allow for extradition.

Ibrahim Nour, whose father was tortured and killed in the infamous Bossembélé prison, welcomed the arrest warrant. "Justice may be slow, but it will eventually catch up with the executioners," he said. "That's why I welcome the arrest warrant for the men who killed my father, and for whom we are waiting for explanations so that we can begin to mourn."

The Special Criminal Court was established in 2015 to try war crimes and other human rights abuses committed during the coups and violence that the country has experienced since 2003. Patryk Labuda, an expert in international criminal law at the Polish Academy of Sciences, told the AP that the warrant issued Tuesday sends a message about the court's intention to prosecute wrongdoing by the state.

"This arrest warrant is certainly one of the most high-profile developments in the 5 years the court has operated," Labuda said.

Bozizé seized power in a coup in 2003, and was ousted by predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels a decade later. That led to a civil war between the rebels and mostly Christian militias, marked by sectarian violence atrocities and the forced use of child soldiers.

Both the U.S. and the United Nations targeted Bozizé with sanctions for fueling the violence. The U.N., which has a peacekeeping mission in the country, estimates the fighting has killed thousands and displaced over a million people, or one-fifth of the population. In 2019, a peace deal was reached between the government and 14 armed groups, but fighting continues.

About 10,000 children are still fighting alongside armed groups in Central African Republic more than a decade after civil war broke out, the government said earlier this year.

Audrey Yamalé, a member of the Association of Victims of the 2013 Crisis, said, "It's a great day for us victims to learn that François Bozizé is the target of an international arrest warrant. But let's not stop there. We would like Guinea Bissau to cooperate in his extradition."