A Haitian judge demanded Thursday that former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier be brought to court to attend a hearing into whether to try him for crimes against humanity. Judge Jean-Joseph Lebrun issued the order in the presence of lawyers acting for Duvalier and for alleged victims of his regime, after the former leader failed for a third time to attend a scheduled hearing into the case. cre-jca/dc/sst

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier failed to appear in court on Thursday to hear whether he will face charges over human rights abuses. "There isn't even a one percent chance that he will appear," his attorney Reynold Georges declared at the court, explaining that his client has asked Haiti's highest court to hear his case and is awaiting its decision. "We are calmly awaiting the decision of the Court of Cassation," he said.

Two years after his return to Haiti following 25 years in exile, ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier is due in court Thursday as a judge mulls whether he can be tried for crimes against humanity. Known as "Baby Doc," Duvalier was the world's youngest head of state when, at the age of just 19, he succeeded his late autocratic father Francois "Papa Doc" in 1971. His rule was initially seen as more benign, before he too adopted hardline dictatorial measures. He was eventually overthrown in 1986 and spent a quarter of a century in exile in France.

By Susana Ferreira PORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb 7 (Reuters) - An appeals court judge ordered former Haitian President Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier to appear in court later this month on human rights allegations following a raucous hearing on the issue on Thursday. Duvalier, 61, the country's former "president for life," returned to Haiti in January 2011 after 25 years of exile and was briefly detained on charges of corruption, theft and misappropriation of funds.