Chad’s former strongman, Hissène Habré, dies of covid-19

HIS SWIMMING-POOL-turned-prison was known as La Piscine. There, Hissène Habré’s torturers would bind victims’ feet and hands and force them to swallow large volumes of water. Then they would hoist them up and drop them, sending water shooting out of their mouths and noses. They had other methods, too, such as stuffing the exhaust pipe of a running vehicle into a prisoner’s mouth. Across the road from La Piscine were offices used by the American government, which backed Mr Habré’s brutal regime.

The despot who ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990 died on August 24th after contracting covid-19. He was 79, and serving a life sentence in Senegal for crimes against humanity.