BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) 鈥 An internationally backed court in the Central African Republic issued an international arrest warrant Tuesday for the country鈥檚 exiled former President Fran莽ois Boziz茅 for human rights abuses from 2009 to 2013, a spokesperson said.
The Special Criminal Court was set up in the capital, Bangui, to try war crimes and other human rights abuses committed during the coups and violence that the country has experienced since 2003.
Court spokesperson Gervais Bodagy Laoul茅 said the warrant was for crimes committed under Boziz茅's leadership in a civilian prison and at a military training center in the city of Bossemb茅l茅m where many people were tortured and killed.
The warrant covers crimes from 2009 to 2013 by the presidential guard and other security forces, Laoul茅 said.
Boziz茅 current lives in exile in Guinea Bissau, where that country's President Umaro Sissoco Embal贸 told the Associated Press that he had not received any request from Bangui about the arrest warrant, and that the country鈥檚 laws do not allow for extradition.
Ibrahim Nour, whose father was tortured and killed in the infamous Bossemb茅l茅 prison, welcomed the arrest warrant.
鈥淛ustice may be slow, but it will eventually catch up with the executioners. That鈥檚 why I welcome the arrest warrant for the men who killed my father, and for whom we are waiting for explanations so that we can begin to mourn,鈥 Nour said.
The court was created in 2015, but took several years to begin operating. Human Rights Watch has described its creation as a landmark to advance justice for victims of serious crimes.
Patryk Labuda, an expert in international criminal law at the Polish Academy of Sciences, told the AP that the warrant issued Tuesday sends a message about the court鈥檚 intention to prosecute wrongdoing by the state.
鈥淭his arrest warrant is certainly one of the most high profile developments in the 5 years the court has operated,鈥 Labuda said.
Boziz茅 seized power in a coup in 2003, and was ousted by predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels a decade later. That led to a civil war between the rebels and mostly Christian militias marked by sectarian violence atrocities and the forced use of child soliders.
Both and the United Nations targeted Boziz茅 with sanctions for fueling the violence.
The U.N., which has a peacekeeping mission in the country, estimates the fighting has killed thousands and displaced over a million people, or one-fifth of the population. In 2019, a peace deal was reached between the government and 14 armed groups, but fighting continues.
alongside armed groups in Central African Republic more than a decade after civil war broke out, the government said earlier this year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great day for us victims to learn that Fran莽ois Boziz茅 is the target of an international arrest warrant,鈥 said Audrey Yamal茅, a member of the Association of Victims of the 2013 Crisis. 鈥淏ut let鈥檚 not stop there. We would like Guinea Bissau to cooperate in his extradition.鈥
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Assana reported from Bissau. Associated Press writer Jessica Donati in Dakar, Senegal, contributed.
