To Catch a Dictator
The Pursuit and Trial of Hissène Habré
Columbia University Press
To Catch a Dictator
The Pursuit and Trial of Hissène Habré
Columbia University Press
What does it take to make a dictator answer for his crimes? Hissène Habré, the former despot of Chad, had terrorized, tortured, and killed on a horrific scale over eight bloody years in power—all while enjoying full American and Western support. After Habré’s overthrow, his victims and their supporters were determined to see him held responsible for his atrocities. Their quest for justice would be long, tense, and unnerving, but they would not back down.
To Catch a Dictator is a dramatic insider’s account of the hunt for Habré and his momentous trial. The human rights lawyer Reed Brody recounts how he and an international team of investigators, legal experts, and victims worked across three continents to unearth evidence and witnesses, petition courts and skeptical governments, and rally public opinion. They faced many obstacles and constant threats. One of Brody’s Chadian colleagues was gravely injured in a bomb attack, and another had to seek asylum in the United States. Habré fought back bitterly, drawing on secret bank accounts and extensive political connections to preserve his life of luxurious exile. Yet Brody and his allies ultimately triumphed: Habré became the first former head of state to be convicted of crimes against humanity in the courts of another country. This fast-paced, suspenseful book shows that there is nothing inevitable about the impunity that too often protects the powerful and that even the worst tyrants can be brought to justice.
The book also features a foreword by Jacqueline Moudeïna, the lead lawyer for Hissène Habré’s victims, who received the Right Livelihood Award (the “alternative Nobel Peace Prize”) in 2011.
To Catch a Dictator is a dramatic insider’s account of the hunt for Habré and his momentous trial. The human rights lawyer Reed Brody recounts how he and an international team of investigators, legal experts, and victims worked across three continents to unearth evidence and witnesses, petition courts and skeptical governments, and rally public opinion. They faced many obstacles and constant threats. One of Brody’s Chadian colleagues was gravely injured in a bomb attack, and another had to seek asylum in the United States. Habré fought back bitterly, drawing on secret bank accounts and extensive political connections to preserve his life of luxurious exile. Yet Brody and his allies ultimately triumphed: Habré became the first former head of state to be convicted of crimes against humanity in the courts of another country. This fast-paced, suspenseful book shows that there is nothing inevitable about the impunity that too often protects the powerful and that even the worst tyrants can be brought to justice.
The book also features a foreword by Jacqueline Moudeïna, the lead lawyer for Hissène Habré’s victims, who received the Right Livelihood Award (the “alternative Nobel Peace Prize”) in 2011.
From one of the world’s great fighters for justice, a most powerful tale of true crime that is at once gripping, forensic, and deeply human. Philippe Sands, author of East West Street: On the Origins of "Genocide" and "Crimes Against Humanity"
Reed Brody’s remarkable book, To Catch a Dictator, is part political thriller, part memoir, part handbook for human rights attorneys and activists the world over. Brody describes the atrocities committed by Hissène Habré, who brutally ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990 with U.S. government support, and with profound humanity writes of the victims of Habré’s torture, who courageously persevered in their decades-long fight for justice. This compelling book serves as a guiding light to those who would pursue justice and human rights in these times that appear increasingly dark. Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
A riveting account of how a band of unrelenting victims and their allies were able to turn the tables on a brutal tyrant who thought he had gotten away with his crimes. I saw the story play out in real time as Senegal organized one of the most important trials in African history, and it was every bit as extraordinary as it appears on the page. Reed Brody’s engrossing book will restore your hope in the possibility of justice. Aminata Touré, former prime minister of Senegal
To Catch a Dictator reads like a gripping espionage thriller, except the whole thing is about true-life crime on an international scale. This definitive account of the origins and conduct of the Hissène Habré trial abounds with dictators, spies, assassinations, and political intrigue. Craig Etcheson, author of Extraordinary Justice: Law, Politics, and the Khmer Rouge Tribunals
[To Catch a Dictator] makes for great reading...an engrossing blow-by-blow account...provid[ing] fascinating insights into the nature of such an international legal coalition. Nicolas van de Walle, Foreign Affairs
An absorbing saga that raises a disturbing question: How do brutal fascists like Habre and other murderous heads of state evade a courtroom reckoning for so long after falling from power? Steve Levingston, The Washington Post
Catchy, easy to read and inspiring...Brody is a natural storyteller. Mia Swart, Edge Hill University, African Yearbook
Foreword, by Jacqueline Moudeïna
Prologue
Part I. Hissène Habré, an “African Pinochet”
1. Souleymane Guengueng
2. Hissène Habré
3. The Pinochet Precedent
4. A President Can Be Prosecuted
Part II. Building the Case
5. Politics Enters the Picture
6. The Terror Files
7. A Grenade Attack
8. Justice Comes to Chad
9. A Banana Republic?
10. Reed Brody’s Schedule
11. Habré Is Indicted, Again
12. The Caliph
13. A Senegalese Merchant
14. “Reed Bloody, a Hateful Jew”
15. Habrémania
16. Habrécadabra
17. The Trade Union of Heads of State
18. “On Behalf of Africa”
Part III. Building a Court
19. Mr. X
20. La France
21. Panic in Chad
22. An “Insider” Witness
23. “Hope Is the Last Thing to Vanish”
24. A Bizarre Decision
25. Backlash
26. “A Political and Legal Soap Opera”
27. “Hurricane Mimi”
28. “President Habré Has Been Kidnapped”
29. A Trial in Chad
Part IV. The Trial of Hissène Habré
30. Two Heart Attacks
31. Round One to Habré
32. “You Will Be Tried Whether You Like It or Not”
33. “From the Victims I Ask for Forgiveness”
34. Khadidja Tells Her Secret
35. The Man Who Runs Faster Than Death
36. Souleymane Testifies
37. The Verdict Is Announced
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Index
Prologue
Part I. Hissène Habré, an “African Pinochet”
1. Souleymane Guengueng
2. Hissène Habré
3. The Pinochet Precedent
4. A President Can Be Prosecuted
Part II. Building the Case
5. Politics Enters the Picture
6. The Terror Files
7. A Grenade Attack
8. Justice Comes to Chad
9. A Banana Republic?
10. Reed Brody’s Schedule
11. Habré Is Indicted, Again
12. The Caliph
13. A Senegalese Merchant
14. “Reed Bloody, a Hateful Jew”
15. Habrémania
16. Habrécadabra
17. The Trade Union of Heads of State
18. “On Behalf of Africa”
Part III. Building a Court
19. Mr. X
20. La France
21. Panic in Chad
22. An “Insider” Witness
23. “Hope Is the Last Thing to Vanish”
24. A Bizarre Decision
25. Backlash
26. “A Political and Legal Soap Opera”
27. “Hurricane Mimi”
28. “President Habré Has Been Kidnapped”
29. A Trial in Chad
Part IV. The Trial of Hissène Habré
30. Two Heart Attacks
31. Round One to Habré
32. “You Will Be Tried Whether You Like It or Not”
33. “From the Victims I Ask for Forgiveness”
34. Khadidja Tells Her Secret
35. The Man Who Runs Faster Than Death
36. Souleymane Testifies
37. The Verdict Is Announced
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Index
- Listen to the author read a passage from the book
- Listen to an interview with the author on NPR's Tell Me More where he talks about his work bringing dictators to justice
- Read an interview at DAWN with the author about his work holding dictators accountable for their human rights violations
- Watch video of the author on Morning Joe
- Listen to an interview with the author on NPR Morning Edition
- Read a Q&A with Reed Brody on To Catch a Dictator