Annex I: Human Rights Watch Letter to the Ivorian Government

October 8, 2012

Marcel Amon Tanoh

Chief of Staff

Presidency

Republic of Côte d’Ivoire

Dear Mr. Amon Tanoh,

We write to receive the formal response of the presidency in regards to key findings from our recent field work in Côte d’Ivoire, undertaken from August 25 to September 14. We hope to include these responses in a report that will be published in November.

We appreciate your government’s openness to human rights groups like Human Rights Watch. While in Abidjan, we had the pleasure of sharing our preliminary findings with Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko, Human Rights Minister Gnénéma Coulibaly, Deputy Public Prosecutor Noël Djé, and the Directeur de Cabinet in the Ministry of Justice, Fodjo Abo. Your government’s willingness to meet and exchange freely on human rights issues is a clear and positive change from the previous government in Côte d’Ivoire, and we hope that the fruitful engagement continues going forward.

Our work while in Côte d’Ivoire focused on the Ivorian security forces’ response to the August attacks on the military. We fully recognize that Côte d’Ivoire faces a real security threat and express our condolences for the lives claimed and destruction wrought by these attacks. In June 2012, Human Rights Watch published a short report documenting cross-border attacks from Liberia into Côte d’Ivoire and warning that pro-Gbagbo militants there were recruiting and organizing for future attacks. We recognize the concerning links between militants in Liberia and Ghana, as well as the Ivorian government’s right to respond to these threats within the framework of international and Ivorian law.

Unfortunately, the security forces – and in particularly certain members of the Republican Forces – have responded to these threats with a myriad of human rights abuses. We interviewed more than 50 people in Abidjan and Dabou who had been subject to arbitrary arrest and detention. Many of them had experienced cruel and inhuman treatment while in detention at military camps, including the military police camp in Adjamé, the former Brigade anti-émeute (BAE) camp in Yopougon, and the military base in Dabou. The vast majority of those interviewed by Human Rights Watch were civilians, for whom the legal basis of detention at a military camp appears in conflict with Ivorian and international law.

At the military camp in Adjamé, overseen by Kone Zakaria, Human Rights Watch interviewed five former detainees who were victims of torture. They described being beaten savagely with guns, fists, belts, and other objects, as members of the Republican Forces at the camp demanded that they sign confessions or divulge information about the location of weapons. Of the five victims interviewed, three were civilians and two were military personnel who had remained in Gbagbo’s Forces de défense et de sécurité (FDS) during the crisis. These detainees described seeing other victims of severe mistreatment in their cell. Detainees also described horrible conditions of confinement, including being forced as punishment to stay in a room full of excrement; having rooms so overcrowded that detainees could not even lie down; and being provided such small quantities of food and water that they became delirious.

At the former BAE camp in Yopougon, Human Rights Watch documented a revolving door of detainees brought in almost daily during mass arrests throughout the neighborhood. Human Rights Watch interviewed Yopougon residents who were arrested in their homes, while eating at a maquis, with friends at a bar, when walking home from church, when in a taxi or a bus, and when attending a funeral. These arrests primarily occurred in perceived pro-Gbagbo areas of Yopougon, and often appear to have been done largely on the basis of the person’s ethnicity and age. Detainees and other witnesses said often 20 or more people would be arrested at the same time, none of them informed of any specific allegations, much less an arrest warrant, against them. After being brought to the BAE camp, detainees were frequently subject to cruel and inhuman treatment – including beatings, overcrowding so severe that many people had to sleep outside, denial of food and water, and sleep deprivation.

We also documented a worrying pattern of criminal behavior by the security forces. Victims and neighborhood residents described how, during home searches, members of the Republican Forces often stole cell phones, computers, money, and jewelry. Detainees also described how the response to a security threat devolved into a widespread extortion scheme: Almost everyone detained at the BAE camp described having to pay a substantial sum of money to the Republican Forces in order to obtain their release. The demanded amount of money varied from 10,000 CFA to as high as 150,000 CFA. Witnesses frequently identified commanding officers as being at the camp while these abuses were occurring, and our work shows the abuses continued in a similar pattern for at least four weeks. We therefore believe that, at a minimum, the commanders at these camps knew about the ongoing abuses and failed to act to stop them.

The abuses at the Dabou military camp were similar to those at the BAE camp, perhaps unsurprising given that both operations were overseen by the same commander: Ousmane Coulibaly, better known as “Bin Laden.” We note with concern that Coulibaly was recently promoted to the position of prefect in San Pedro. His promotion came two weeks after Human Rights Watch briefed the Interior Minister and the Human Rights Minister on our findings that directly implicated Coulibaly in overseeing mass arbitrary arrest and detention, cruel and inhuman treatment in detention, and mass extortion of detainees in exchange for their release. Coulibaly was also named by Human Rights Watch as responsible in a command role for war crimes during the battle for Abidjan in April and May 2011. In 2009, the United States Department of State named Coulibaly in its annual report on human rights, noting that his close aide had engaged in torture without punishment from Coulibaly. His forces were likewise implicated in grave crimes during the 2002-2003 armed conflict. Despite his repeated implication in grave human rights abuses by independent groups, he has again been promoted by the Ivorian government – and promoted to oversee one of the tensest areas of the country, given the longstanding rumors that pro-Gbagbo militants might target the region for an attack. We find his promotion deeply concerning in the face of the Ivorian government’s commitments to impartial justice and a rights-respecting military.

Finally, people involved in the transport industry expressed to Human Rights Watch frustration with the return of rampant extortion by security forces at checkpoints. In a September 2011 release, Human Rights Watch praised the Ouattara government for the efforts it had taken to end the scourge of checkpoint extortion. We recognized that the problem long predated the Ouattara government, and that the current government had prioritized addressing the issue in a way that brought clear results and was welcomed by Ivorians. However, it appears that the progress has been largely reversed in the aftermath of the August attacks. Several businessmen involved in the transport industry said that they had stopped their movement of goods at present, because the extortion was too costly to make a profit.

As noted at the outset, we will be publishing a report in early November. We want to best reflect the government’s position, providing it with an opportunity to respond to our main findings, in addition to the responses we received during meetings with Mr. Bakayoko and Mr. Coulibaly.

Due to our publication timeline, we would be grateful for a written response to the below questions by October 22. If easier, we could, in the alternative, discuss these issues during a phone conversation. 

• Under what legal basis are civilians being held in detention at military camps, including the Yopougon BAE base, the Dabou military camp, and the Adjamé military police camp? If there is no legal basis for holding civilians at these military sites, can you commit to ending the practice?
• Under what legal basis are soldiers from the Republican Forces conducting mass arrests, including in Yopougon and Dabou? What is the justification for arresting and detaining people en masse, without an arrest warrant and not in hot pursuit?
• Is every detainee held in detention brought promptly brought before a judge, as required by Ivorian and international human rights law? If not, is there a reason why detainees, in particular at these military camps, have not been afforded the right to appear before a judge within 48 hours of being detained? Will the government ensure in the future that all detainees appear promptly or are released, in conforming to the law?  
• What is the process in the government – and in particular the Defense Ministry – for vetting military commanders for promotions? Does an evaluation of allegations of human rights abuses factor into decisions?
• In selecting Ousmane Coulibaly for the position of prefect in San Pedro, was there discussion of his implication, including by the U.S. State Department, for command responsibility in serious crimes such as torture? What about Mr. Coulibaly makes the government feel he is the best person for handling the sensitive area of San Pedro?
• As noted above, victims and witnesses described numerous cases of torture and cruel treatment in the Adjamé military police camp in the aftermath of the August attacks. What measures is the government taking to safeguard detainees from such abuse? Will the prosecutor conduct investigations into allegations of torture, with a view to prosecute members of the Republican Forces deemed responsible for such abuses?
• What measures has the government taken or will the government take in order to stop criminal practices by the security forces, including the extortion of detainees in return for their release?
• Given the abuses in detention, what measures has the government taken or will the government take to ensure that independent international and Ivorian monitors have complete access to all detention sites, including on unannounced visits? Representatives from several Ivorian organizations that have historically monitored detention conditions told Human Rights Watch that the government has not approved their requests for access for over a year. Is that accurate and, if so, why?
• The government of President Ouattara had considerable success in reducing the practice of checkpoint extortion during its first months. What measures does the government intend to take to ensure that this progress is not lost?

We thank you again for the openness that your government has shown in engaging on human rights issues, and we look forward to your response on the important matters raised in this letter. If you have any questions, please contact us by email at wellsm@hrw.org or by fax at: +1-212-736-1300.

Corinne Dufka, West Africa director

Matt Wells, West Africa researcher

CC: SEM Président Alassane Ouattara

CC: Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Garde des Sceaux Jeannot Ahoussou-Kouadio

CC: Minister of Interior, Hamed Bakayoko

CC: Minister of Human Rights, Gnénéma Coulibaly