To Catch a Dictator

The Pursuit and Trial of Hissène Habré

Human Rights Watch lawyer Reed Brody’s To Catch a Dictator is about bringing an elusive criminal to trial for his war crimes.

Hissène Habré’s eight-year despotic reign of Chad was marked by political massacres, torture, and rape. Still, he was once backed by the Reagan administration and by the French government, who believed that he’d be a force against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. This book establishes the volatile background that caused many to compare Habré to a Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet. It also charts the intricacies of Habré’s rise to power alongside the experiences of one of his regime’s Christian survivors, who vowed to exact justice through activism.

In riveting language, the facts about how Brody assembled the case unfold. The book names setbacks, including because of Belgium’s universal jurisdiction law; questions surrounding Habré’s extradition; and doubt about Senegal’s commitment to holding a trial (Habré had made financial contributions to religious leaders there, and many of his former supporters remained in positions of power in the nation). Because of such barriers, the pages leading up to the trial are suspenseful.

Brody—a white lawyer who entered a fraught situation from the outside—is a humble narrator. He centers the work of his African colleagues in his story of their eighteen-year-long pursuit of justice. He is frank in detailing his personal frustrations throughout. And his book also makes room for compassion, sharing the brutal experiences of some of Habré’s victims. There are photographs of torture sites and dangerous encounters, including a grenade attack on a legal team member.

A behind-the-scenes account of a calibrated trial, To Catch a Dictator is an incisive story of pursuing justice against a brutal former head of state.

Reviewed by Karen Rigby

Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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