I gave Haitians a decent life, saysex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier angrily defended his rule at a hearing on whether he can be charged with crimes against humanity.

Duvalier, who came to power as a teenager and ruled with an iron fist until being ousted in a popular revolt in 1986, fled into exile in France before returning just two years ago. On Thursday, he tried to turn the tables on Haiti's current rulers.

He said people had in fact lived better under him.

"What have you done with my country?" he asked the judge in a much-delayed session at which he confronted victims of his regime for the first time.

Former opposition figures have accused Duvalier of deploying the feared Tonton Macoute militia and of complicity in murder, torture and kidnapping.

The issue at stake in Thursday's hearing was whether the statute of limitations on the alleged human rights abuses has expired.

Duvalier, 61, said on Thursday that when he was president, Haitians were indeed impoverished, but life more or less limped along "and Haitians sent their children to school". "I cannot say life was great, but people lived decently," he said.

Duvalier spoke so softly to Judge Jean-Joseph Lebrun that a court clerk had to repeat his words so everyone else could hear them. The judge had asked him if he assumed responsibility for his actions as president. Duvalier replied he had done his best to give the people of the Western hemisphere's poorest country a decent life.

"Upon my return, I found a country in ruins and engulfed by corruption," he said. "It is my turn to ask, 'what have you done with my country?'"

The judge at one point told Duvalier he was accused of ordering illegal arrests, torture and political killings.

"How do you answer?" the judge asked.

Duvalier said: "Each time cases were reported, I intervened so that justice was rendered."

Activist groups, such as Human Rights Watch, expressed satisfaction that Duvalier was finally in court. Victims of his regime were also present and were to testify later.

One former political prisoner, Robert "Bobby" Duval, said outside court that Duvalier was "a true dictator, and has shown his true temperament".

Duvalier was summoned by a judge to appear on Thursday after failing three times previously to show up in court.

He wore a dark suit and white shirt as he sat in the packed courtroom with his companion Veronique Roy.

Outside, several dozen supporters wearing the red and black colours that symbolised the old regime shouted their support for the former ruler, saying "Long live Duvalier".

A Haitian court decided last year that too much time had passed for Duvalier to be charged with crimes against humanity, which are protected by a statute of limitations. His alleged victims have appealed that decision.

Duvalier was the world's youngest head of state when, at 19, he succeeded his late autocratic father Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier in 1971. He was overthrown in a popular revolt in 1986 and fled to France.

He returned to Haiti two years ago after 25 years in exile.