Court in the Central African Republic issues international arrest warrant for former president

By JEAN FERNAND KOENA and SAMBU ASSANA
Associated Press

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — A spokesperson for an internationally backed court in the Central African Republic says the panel has issued an international arrest warrant for the country’s exiled former President François Bozizé for human rights abuses. The Special Criminal Court was set up in the capital, Bangui, to try war crimes and other human rights abuses committed during the many coups and wars that the country has experienced since 2003. Gervais Bodagy Laoulé, a spokesperson for the Special Criminal Court, says the warrant is for crimes committed under the former president’s leadership between 2009-13 in a civilian prison and a military training center in the city of Bossembélé.