The first trial at the Special Criminal Court was postponed in Bangui on April 19 due to the absence of the defendants’ lawyers.

The trial meant to deal with three defendants of the 3R rebel group, charged with war crimes.

Issa Sallet Adoumalias Bozize, Ousman Yaouba and Tahir Mahamat are accused of murder, crimes against humanity and war crimes following the killings of 32 civilians in Lemouna and Koundjili in the northwestern Central African Republic on May 21, 2019.

The killings were the first major violation of a 2019 peace agreement between the government and rebels.

Three days after the killings, 3R leader Sidiki Abass handed over the three defendants to the UN Central African peacekeeping mission MINUSCA and local authorities, claiming they were responsible for the killings.

The Special Criminal Court is a domestic tribunal operational since 2018 and composed of national and international judges and prosecutors, with a mandate to investigate, prosecute and judge serious human rights violations and grave breaches
of international criminal and humanitarian law committed on Central African soil since January 1, 2003. It is funded by foreign donors such as the EU, the UN and the Central African government.

Human rights activists hope that this court will be a crucial instrument to end impunity.

Aljazeera.