Key Takeaways
- The CAR Special Criminal Court has issued an international arrest warrant for former President Francois Bozize over possible crimes against humanity from 2009 to 2013.
- The arrest warrant concerns crimes allegedly committed between February 2009 and March 2013 by the presidential guard and other security forces.
- Bozize seized power in a coup in 2003 and was ousted a decade later, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in September 2023.
Bangui: The Special Criminal Court of the Central African Republic (CAR) has issued an international arrest warrant for the country’s exiled former President Francois Bozize over possible crimes against humanity from 2009 to 2013.
“An international arrest warrant has been issued for Francois Bozize, a CAR national who has been residing in Guinea-Bissau since March 3, 2023” the court said in a statement on Tuesday.
The arrest warrant concerns crimes allegedly committed between February 2009 and March 2013 by the presidential guard and other security forces, including forced imprisonment, torture, rape, sexual slavery and other inhumane acts, the statement read.
Bozize seized power in a coup in 2003 and was ousted a decade later. In September 2023, a court of appeal in the CAR capital of Bangui sentenced the former president in absentia to life imprisonment on charges of conspiracy and mutiny.
