The long-awaited first trial of the Special Criminal Court of the Central African Republic opened on Monday but was immediately postponed to May 16. The court, known by its French acronym CPS, was set up in the capital Bangui seven years ago to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity committed in the country since 2003. Unique for being in a country that is still in civil war, the trial could have been a key moment in fostering accountability in a country scarred by decades of violence.
The case on Monday involves three suspects—Issa Sallet Adoum, also known as Bozize, Ousman Yaouba and Mahamat Tahir—who were members of the Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation (3R) armed group, one of the most powerful rebel movements in the country. They are accused of being responsible for the massacre of 46 civilians in two villages near the northwestern town of Paoua in May 2019. The initial date of the trial’s first hearing was set for April 19, but a no-show of the defendants’ lawyers due to disagreements over their wages delayed the opening. It was postponed again as "the lawyers for the defense and those for the civil parties have asked the court for a postponement because they feel that they are not ready," Paul Yakola, a lawyer for one of the defendants explained. Alain Wabibikaye, a prosecutor at the court believes this was just a delaying tactic: "because we have followed this entire procedure with them from start to finish for three years and they had access to this procedure at all times, so it is not today that they can ask for a postponement to allow them to organize themselves."
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