Abstract
Abstract The prosecution of international crimes in domestic and international criminal justice systems may involve aged defendants. Such prosecutions often implicate aged witnesses as well. There is a dearth of literature not only on the expressive value and optics of punishing aged defendants but also on the role of aged witnesses in the trial process. The need to interrogate these optics and perceptions—be it from an empirical or a theoretical perspective—is not only necessary, it is also timely. This article assesses the prosecution of Chadian dictator Hissène Habré in 2015–2016 at the Extraordinary African Chambers. This trial not only concerned an aged defendant, but also over 90 witnesses, the majority of whom was aged. This article explores the dialectics between the optics of punishing aged defendants and the optics of aged witnesses at the Habré trial.
Highlights
On 30 May 2016 the judges of the Extraordinary African Chambers delivered a guilty verdict against 74-year-old Hissène Habré, former Chadian president, for crimes committed during his repressive regime
This article explores the dialectics between the optics of punishing aged defendants and the optics of aged witnesses in the trial procedure, with specific reference to aged witnesses in the Habré case at the Extraordinary African Chambers
He was considered by most witnesses who appeared before the Extraordinary African Chambers as the main gravedigger of the dds and his testimony added to the forensic visualities at the Habré trial
Summary
On 30 May 2016 the judges of the Extraordinary African Chambers delivered a guilty verdict against 74-year-old Hissène Habré, former Chadian president, for crimes committed during his repressive regime. The Habré trial did involve an aged defendant; it involved over 90 witnesses, the majority of whom were aged. This was a trial of historical crimes, injustices, and late. Via free access optics, aged witnesses and aged defendants justice for atrocities committed between 1982 and 1990. This article explores the dialectics between the optics of punishing aged defendants and the optics of aged witnesses in the trial procedure, with specific reference to aged witnesses in the Habré case at the Extraordinary African Chambers.
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