War crimes trial of ex-CAR president Bozizé opens in his absence
A UN-backed Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic has opened the trial of former president François Bozizé on charges of crimes against humanity, a long-awaited proceeding clouded by the defendant's absence.
The court in the capital, Bangui, which combines national and international judges, is examining abuses allegedly committed by members of Bozizé's security forces between 2009 and 2013. The charges include murder, enforced disappearance, torture and rape during the final years of his rule.
Bozizé, 79, is being tried in absentia. He has lived in exile in Guinea-Bissau since 2023, and authorities there have refused to extradite him despite an international arrest warrant issued by the court in 2024. He seized power in a 2003 coup and was himself overthrown a decade later by rebels.
Three of his former senior military officers — Eugène Barret Ngaïkosset, Vianney Semndiro and Firmin Junior Danboy — are in pre-trial detention in the Central African Republic in connection with the case.
The rights group Amnesty International welcomed the start of proceedings as a step toward accountability for victims, but said the trial was tarnished by Bozizé's absence from the courtroom. The Special Criminal Court was established to prosecute the most serious crimes committed during years of conflict that have repeatedly destabilised the mineral-rich nation.
