Dakar, May 30 (IANS) Former Chadian president Hissene Habre was on Monday sentenced to life imprisonment by the African Special Court in Dakar, Senegal.
Habre was found guilty of rape, sexual assaults, voluntary homicides, massive human trafficking, abductions and torture, and acquitted of war crimes, Xinhua news agency reported.
He has 15 days to appeal the ruling.
The accused who has contested the jurisdiction of the court that was set up in Senegal by the African Union, was forced to attend the hearing, but refused to respond to questions posed by judges.
In his submission, the court's prosecutor Mbacke Fall, asked the judges to sentence Habre to life imprisonment.
Fall equally urged the court to order for the confiscation of Habre's properties, arguing there was sufficient evidence to prove his culpability.
In the absence of his lawyers who boycotted the proceedings, the three advocates appointed by the court to defend Habre called for his acquittal.
Habre, 73, led Chad between 1982 and 1990. After having been overthrown by current Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, he fled to Senegal.
After a legal battle by victims of his actions that lasted for several years, he was finally arrested on June 30, 2013 at his home in Dakar, and charged on July 2, 2013.
