Ex-Central African Republic Leader Bozizé on Trial Over Alleged Atrocities

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Bangui: Former Central African Republic President François Bozizé is on trial in absentia before a UN-backed court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed from 2003 to 2013. Prosecutors accuse Bozizé and his security officers of murder, torture, unjust detention, and other abuses at jails, including a military camp near the capital.

Bozizé, who was ousted in 2013 and is believed to be living in exile in Guinea-Bissau, is being tried by the Special Criminal Court (SCC), a hybrid tribunal set up to investigate severe crimes carried out in the country since 2003. The court issued an arrest warrant for him in 2024 on accusations related to alleged crimes committed between 2009 and 2013.

The proceedings have been welcomed by human rights organisations as a major step toward justice in the volatile country, where years of violence have left thousands dead and displaced. But Bozizé's absence from the courtroom raises concerns about law enforcement and the more general difficulty of prosecuting prominent criminals.

Several military leaders are also being prosecuted before international courts, and the trial takes place in the midst of ongoing international attempts to address atrocities perpetrated during the protracted hostilities in the Central African Republic.