In His Own Words

This chapter presents Hissène Habré's own thoughts on his regime and his threatened extradition, excerpted from his 2011 interview with Senegalese reporters from La Gazette. Habré moved to Dakar, Senegal following his expulsion from Chad in 1990, where he lived as a private citizen in an upscale residential neighbourhood. Although he left public politics, he participated in local Muslim political life in Senegal, and was protected by Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade. However, waves of international attention put pressure on Senegal to extradite or prosecute Habré. On 25 July 2011, a film crew and reporters from La Gazette interviewed Habré in his home in Almadies. It was rumoured that President Wade was preparing to extradite Habré to Chad, where he had already been sentenced to death, in absentia, under Idriss Déby's regime. In response, Habré broke his typical media silence and agreed to an interview. In this interview, Habré did not deny that ‘there were deviations or blemishes’ under his regime, but he insisted that he is not responsible for these.