U.N.-backed court in Bangui opens trial of former Central African Republic president Bozizé in absentia

-backed court in the Central African Republic opened the trial of former President François Bozizé on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. The proceedings at the Special Criminal Court in Bangui center on alleged abuses at a prison and a military training center in Bossembélé, about 150 kilometers northwest of the capital.

Prosecutors accuse Bozizé of responsibility as a military commander for crimes including murder, enforced disappearance, torture, rape and other inhumane acts committed by members of his presidential guard and other security forces between 2009 and 2013.

Bozizé, 79, is being tried in absentia. He has lived in exile in Guinea-Bissau since March 2023, and authorities there have refused to extradite him despite an international arrest warrant issued by the court in 2024. Bozizé is the highest-ranking official ever tried by the Special Criminal Court, a hybrid body of Central African and foreign judges created in 2015 to prosecute serious crimes committed since 2003.

Three former military officials—Eugène Barret Ngaïkosset, Vianney Semndiro and Firmin Junior Danboy—are also on trial and are expected to appear in court. ” Maximin Lin Crozon Cazin, who says he was detained and tortured at Bossembélé during Bozizé’s rule, told The Associated Press he was disappointed the former president would not appear.

“It is unfortunate that François Bozizé does not have the courage to face justice in his own country,” Cazin said.

Bozizé seized power in a 2003 coup and ruled until 2013, when he was overthrown by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition. His ouster triggered years of violence between Seleka fighters and predominantly Christian Anti-balaka militias. A peace deal was signed in 2019, but six of the 14 armed groups involved later withdrew, and violence between government forces, allied militias and rebels continues.