Chad’s former President Hissene Habre has been removed from the courtroom at his trial for crimes against humanity.
This was after he shouted that the process was “a farce” as he was waiting for proceedings to begin.
The trial in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, marks the first time one African country has prosecuted the former leader of another.
Habre denies being responsible for hundreds of deaths during his rule from 1982 to 1990.
The trial follows a 25-year campaign to bring him to justice.
Sitting in court before the trial opened, the former Chadian leader shouted: “Down with imperialists. [The trial] is a farce by rotten Senegalese politicians. African traitors. Valet of America”.
Habre was then taken out of the court, and the trial has begun without him, the BBC’s Thomas Fessy reports from the courtroom.
This is the first time an African head of state will be tried in another African country – for torture, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Some campaigners think it will show that Africa can hold its own leaders to account rather than rely on the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The African Union has become increasingly hostile to the ICC, believing that it has unfairly targeted Africans.
Hissene Habre could not be tried before the ICC as his alleged crimes were committed before it was established in 2002, but the special court established jointly by Senegal and the African Union in Dakar could set a template for future trials, reports the BBC.
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