Amnesty International on Friday welcomed the conviction by the Central African Republic’s Special Criminal Court (SCC) of six former combatants in the Ndélé 2 case for war crimes and crimes against humanity, calling the decision “a breakthrough in the fight against impunity in the country.”

However, Amnesty said that the trial was “tarnished” by the fact that four out of six defendants were convicted in absentia. Alice Banens, legal adviser at Amnesty International, noted that fair trial standards ensure the defendants’ right to be present at their trial, to prepare their defense with their lawyer, and to address the court directly. Furthermore, Banens encouraged the execution of arrest warrants for several more suspects who are accused of serious crimes subject to the SCC’s jurisdiction to ensure victims’ right to truth, justice, and effective reparation. 

The six defendants were found guilty of crimes against humanity, including murder, attempted murder, inhuman acts and persecution, and war crimes, and were sentenced to between 18 and 25 years of imprisonment. 

The case centered on violence caused by members of the Popular Front for the Rebirth of the Central African Republic, an armed group from the former Séléka coalition, that resulted in dozens killed and hundreds displaced in the town of Ndélé in March 2020. The case was first brought to the SCC later that year, and testimonies from victims were heard from February 14 to March 20, 2025.

The establishment of the SCC is described as opening “one of the most interesting and exciting landscapes in the field of international criminal law,” building on the legacy of other hybrid tribunals like the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). 

The SCC is a hybrid international court set up in Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic, in 2015. International human rights scholars have anticipated that the SCC will fill in “the justice gap left by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the CAR.” The court is integrated into the Central African Republic’s internal judicial system and staffed by both international and Central African judges, prosecutors and administrators. Its mandate is to investigate and prosecute serious international crimes committed in the country since 2003. The Ndélé 2 case is the third to be heard by the SCC, following the Paoua and Ndélé 1 cases.