Chad: Further information on fear of extrajudicial executions: Official statement sanctioning extrajudicial executions must be withdrawn and remedied
Georges Toubade, Karbida Nerobe and four unidentified men; and new names: Tissal Houlibele, aged 32, Guirsala Kokreo, aged 35, Ouangrebele Poure, aged 30, Faitoin Hapmon, aged 29, Djakdjinkreo Sere, aged 43, Taissam Djaoutoin, aged 40, Metoin Medandi, aged 30, Yaya Djibrilla, Djoina Lamma, aged 39: Following the issuing of an order instructing all members of the National Gendarmerie to extrajudicially execute criminals caught in the act, Amnesty International has continued to receive information on new cases of extrajudicial and summary execution in Chad. None have been the subject of official investigations. On 24 December 1996 nine people (named above) were extrajudicially executed in public in Fianga, Mayo Kebbi, in front of a large crowd, with the involvement of the local magistrate.
EXTERNAL AI Index: AFR 20/05/97
4 March 1997
Further information on UA 296/96 (AFR 20/15/96, 19 December 1996) - Fear of
extrajudicial execution
CHADOfficial statement sanctioning extrajudicial executions must be withdrawn
and remedied
Georges Toubade
Karbida Nérobé
and four unidentified men
New names:HOULIBELE Tissal, aged 32, KOKREO Guirsala, aged 35, POURE
Ouangrebélé, aged 30, HAPMON Faïtoin, aged 29, SERE Djakdjinkréo,
aged 43, DJAOUTOIN Taïssam, aged 40, MEDANDI Metoin, aged 30,
DJIBRILLA Yaya, LAMMA Djoïna, aged 39
Following an order signed by the commander of Chad’s specialized security units
of the National Gendarmerie and issued in mid-November 1996, instructing all
members of the Gendarmerie to extrajudicially execute criminals caught in the
act, Amnesty International has continued to receive information on new cases
of extrajudicial and summary execution in Chad. None have been the subject
of official investigations.
Amnesty International, and other national and international human rights
organizations, have raised their concerns in relation to this order with the
Chadian authorities, calling for the order to be immediately revoked and for
all allegations of extrajudicial execution and summary execution to be
investigated. In addition, on 20 February 1997 the European Parliament passed
a resolution in relation to the human rights situation in Chad, which stated
the European Parliament’s alarm: "..at the continuing human rights violations
in Chad, a country where the armed forces and the police are systematically
resorting to extrajudicial executions of citizens suspected of belonging to
opposition groups or considered to be criminals" and "condemns all forms of
violence.. calls for the immediate and unconditional release of political
prisoners... for the instructions to the ‘specialised army units’" to be
revoked.
Amnesty International has not received a direct response to its concerns,
although, on 3 March 1997, after meeting with members of the European parliament,
the Chadian Prime Minister, Koibla Djimasta said in a radio interview with
Radio France International that the policy was no longer in force and that
criminals would be handed over to the judiciary. He also stated that the policy
had allowed for criminals to be eliminated. Other senior officials of the
government have publicly condoned this policy. In an interview given to the
independent newspaper, N’Djaména-Hebdo, President Déby publicly supported the
policy, presenting it as a measure to deal with rising violent crime, and stating
that thieves should be killed. The foreign minister is reported to have said
the policy is working. Amnesty International has not received written
confirmation that the order has been revoked, nor is it clear, if this is the
case, how this has been communicated to specialized units and their commanders.
Amnesty International recognizes the duty of a government to take action to
ensure that the rule of law is upheld, but such action should itself be within
the framework of national legal procedures and international law protecting
human rights.
2
In at least one case, a magistrate (juge de paix) is reported to have been
involved. On 24 December 1996, nine people (named above) were extrajudicially
executed in public in Fianga, Mayo Kebbi in front of a large crowd. The men,
who were accused of being members of a criminal gang operating in the area,
were arrested between 15 and 24 December 1996. On 23 December, the sub-prefect
sent a letter inviting local government employees, representatives of political
parties and non-governmental organizations from civil society to attend a
meeting outside the local administrative office. Subsequently, the nine men,
who were tied together, were shown to this group of people and a large crowd
which had gathered, before being extrajudicially executed. The local
magistrate is reported to have invoked articles 161, 162 and 163 of the Criminal
Code before the men were shot. The two wives of the alleged gang leader, who
had also been arrested, were released prior to the executions.
A number of bodies, some bearing signs of torture, have been retrieved from
the Chari and Logone rivers since November 1996; they appear to have been the
victims of extrajudicial execution, although lack of official investigation
has meant the identities of the perpetrators remain unknown. The Observatoire
international des prisons (OIP), International Observatory of Prisons, which
has recently returned from a mission to Chad, reported that children in the
village of Sarh, Moyen Chari, are among those who have been extrajudicially
executed under this policy.
FURTHER RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/express/
airmail letters in French and Arabic or in your own language:
- seeking clarification on whether the order issued to specialized units of
the Gendarmerie to commit extrajudicial executions has officially, and in
practice, been revoked;
- calling on the authorities to make an official public statement making it
clear the order has been revoked and to immediately make it clear to all units
of the security forces and members of the government that all law enforcement
personnel are prohibited from operating a policy of extrajudicial execution,
and that any one operating such a policy will be prosecuted;
- expressing concern that senior government officials appear to have sanctioned
this policy;
- calling for independent impartial investigations into all allegations of
extrajudicial execution and deaths in detention, including those mentioned
above, with a view to bringing to justice those responsible, and for relatives
of those unlawfully killed by members of the security forces to be compensated.
APPEALS TO:
President Idriss Déby
Président de la République
Présidence de la République
BP 74, N'DJAMENA, Chad
Faxes: + 235 51 45 01/51 46 53 (Please note: the 51 will change to 52 in the
near future)
Telegrams: President Déby, N'Djaména, Chad
Saluation: Monsieur le Président / Dear President
Prime Minister
Monsieur Koibla DJIMASTA
Premier Ministre
Présidence de la République
3
N'DJAMENA, Chad
Telegrams: Premier Ministre, N'Djamena, Chad
Salutation: Monsieur le Premier Ministre
Monsieur Youssouf Togoimi
Ministre des Forces armées
Minstère des Forces armées
N'DJAMENA, Chad
Telegrams: Ministre des Forces armées, N'Djaména, Chad
Salutation : Monsieur le Ministre / Dear Minister
Lieutenant Colonel DAOUD Soumaïne Khalil
Directeur Général de la Gendarmerie
BP 425, N’DJAMENA, Chad
Telegrams: Directeur General, Gendarmerie, N'Djamena, Chad
Salutation: Monsieur le Directeur Général
COPIES TO:
Monsieur Domaye Nodjigoto Daniel, Président de la Commission nationale des
droits de l'homme et des libertés, Palais du 15 janvier, BP 426, N'DJAMENA,
Chad
Le Rédacteur en chef, N'Djaména-Hebdo, BP 760, N'DJAMENA, Chad
Monsieur Abdelkerim NADJO, Ministre de la Justice et Garde des Sceaux, Ministère
de la Justice, N'DJAMENA, Chad
and to diplomatic representatives of Chad accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat,
or your section office, if sending appeals after 15 April 1997.