The National Assembly of the Central African Republic (CAR) renewed, on Wednesday, the mandate of the Special Criminal Court (CPS) for five years, by adopting a bill extending the said mandate, presented by the Minister of Justice, Arnaud Djoubaye Abazene, according to information relayed by AFP.
The vote was taken by acclamation following the debates. For Abazene, this measure “marks the will of the Central African people to continue to lead the fight against impunity forever”.
Created in 2015 by the Central African government under the sponsorship of the UN, the CPS, made up of national and international magistrates, has the mission of trying people accused of crimes against humanity perpetrated since 2003 in the country.
Operational since 2018, the SCC opened its first trial in April 2022, which resulted in the conviction in November of three members of the 3R armed group accused of the 2019 massacre of 46 civilians in villages in the northwest of the country. .
Convicted of “murder”, “inhumane acts” and “humiliating and degrading treatment”, they had been sentenced to life imprisonment for one of them, and to 20-year prison terms for the other two. .
The CAR has been embroiled in a civil war since 2013, with the overthrow of President François Bozizé, which war had waned in intensity since 2018.
By OMA Newsletter N° 995 of 28/12/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
